The Force of the Twilight
by LegendaryBookWolf
Summary: Link has been kidnapped for almost a year and Hyrule is threatened. But once Zelda finds him, will he be up to the challenge of becoming a hero again? Based on Twilight princess. I do not own Zelda (be cool if I did!). Violence and minor adult theme. Please review and tell me if this is good and I only ask you to read the first chapter! Thank you! :) ;) (Summary sucks by the way!)
1. After the War

Zelda lay her head on Links' chest and heaved a great sigh. The sun was setting and the sky burned a deep red.

"It's getting late princess…I should take you back to the castle," Link whispered. She didn't want this moment to end, not now when she was so close to him. He usually wouldn't allow her to be on his lap, not with people around, they would just spread rumours. But this time no one was here, they were alone… she looked up and was surprised to see how close their lips were, she could just feel his pine fresh breath on her silk skin. He leaned in and was barely a hairs distance from her, she could just feel his lips…

Zelda jolted awake.

So it had been just a dream, the silly hopes of a naive girl in something as simple as a dream. Link had been gone for almost a year now and her guards were no closer to finding him. Her trips to the library hadn't pointed her in the right direction either. Link had been looking for something in the library before his mysterious disappearance – but what?

Zelda fell onto her pillow and sighed. That had been her last encounter with the hero. OK, so the kiss had never happened but they had been together, with her on his lap and his travelling cloak covering them both. What was the point anyway? Every time her guards even came close to something, anything, it seemed to slip away like water in her hands.

She looked around her rich room with its four poster bed and silk sheets, the rare Faron oak ( that had come from Faron woods itself) furniture with the most beautiful carvings. The blood red velvet curtains, the carpets – so deep you could lose your feet in them and her royal gown waiting at the end of the room on the wooden dressmakers mannequin.

Pulling herself out of bed, she showered and dressed (making sure her jewellery was all on properly) and stared out of the window. The sleepy town below the castle was only just starting the day's work. The fountain was glistening in the light of the slowly burning torches, the stone bird and triforce whiter than ever. Hyrule field stretched endlessly into the distance, that was where Midna had left this world, to rule her Twilight kingdom. Zelda laid her hand on the golden door handle as the first rays of morning lit up the triforce on the back of her hand. Perhaps she should take things into her own hands for a change…

* * *

Link raised the bottle to his lips. The cold, bitter taste of Gerudo beer ran down his sore throat that begged only for water but instead received the harsh alcohol. His back was sore and bloody from the large cuts that he had received by the slash of a whip. To give his back some relief from the pain, he had leant forward and now sat on the cold floor of his cell. How many prisoners had been where he was now only to die?

The single lamp that burned at the end of the room was almost finished with its supply of oil. That had been his own lamp and now it didn't help at all – he would have used the flame to burn something in order to escape, but there was nothing to burn. The only way out of here would be with his death… but his opponents wouldn't make it a quick death, it would be as painful as hell.

And how he wanted to see Zelda again! He had only gone for his quiet walk across Hyrule field the way he did every morning. He had just seen the skull kid, up in a tree staring at him from a distance when something heavy had whacked him over the head. He should have been dead (which was what was supposed to happen) but only his part of the triforce had kept him alive.

The lamp started to flicker, Link raised his head in the direction of the door. Its hinges complained with the heaviness of the 3 foot thick solid metal as it was opened and the room flooded with light. So much so, that Link was blinded for a couple of seconds. Footsteps could be heard making their way towards him followed by harsh hands grabbing his arm. He was heaved up and half dragged, half pushed towards the door.

He regained his balance as his feet led him towards the shouts of the crowd. He was tripped up and spat on walking through the mass of people and monsters. At last he reached the barred door of a large cage and was pushed in by the Gerudo guards that were on each side. The cage was about 4 metres wide, 8 metres high and circular. Beams of metal went from one side to the other of the cage creating slanted paths that fighters would climb, walk and fight across. The ceiling was covered in metal spikes and the floor was cold, hard stone; a pair of grappling hooks lay in the middle (they used to be his too).

Link crossed to the other side of the cage, ignoring the grappling hooks and leaned himself on the wall with his arm and his back to the door. Heavy footsteps thudded on the ground behind him, the crowd fell silent. Darknut they called him. His armour was black as night, his shield was rounded and strong and his sword was thick and hard. A thinner sword was sheathed in his belt but looked just as deadly – Link would need that.

Darknut banged his sword against the cage wall. With a clang, the metals met as the wall bent outwards with the force of the hit, that gave Link an idea. Darknut ran towards Link with his sword in the air – ready to finish the fight before it even started. Link did nothing. He waited until the final the final moment...3...2...1...NOW! He jumped up and somersaulted over Darknut as his sword crashed down into the wall. But this time it broke. Link snatched up the grappling hooks and aimed for the second sword in Darknut's belt. Good, now he was armed. Link aimed once again with the grappling hooks to the wooden wall that kept the crowd in – the door was just beneath his target. He let the grapple hook go and felt the tug on his arm as he sailed through the air - good thing these were magic or his arm would be ripped off!

An arrow was pulled back on a bow string. It was aimed, released… and sunk into the flesh of its target.

Link screamed in pain and let go of the handle of the grappling hook. He wasn't even conscious when he hit the ground.


	2. Prisoner

Link awoke with the sound of a key turning in a lock below him. His whole body was sore and he could barely move his left ankle. As he tried to get up, the same harsh hands from earlier pushed him back onto the floor, banging his head against the wall. Link looked up to see an attractive young red-haired woman in her late teens with dark skin. She was fit like all of the other Gerudo but had fearsome eyes and a face that was always in a scowl. She caught him staring and smacked him, hard, across the face. Ouch, that stung.

"Stay down and you may just get some food. Then again, you won't get much after your little stunt."

"Good, just make it a quick death will you?" Link croaked. His voice hurt and his head ached just by saying those few simple words.

"The cage fights are our way of life and you have been our longest lasting prisoner yet. You won't get out of it that easily." She grabbed his chin and lifted his face close to hers. Her nails were digging into his cheeks.

"Anything else you want in the meantime handsome?" Link knew that she was teasing him but he wouldn't give in. Although he was a prisoner here they couldn't break his spirit – not even with all the taunting.

The Gerudo woman brought out a bottle and unscrewed the cap. She raised it up to her blood-red lips and drank the contents for what seemed like forever. She was still gripping his face when she stopped and spat into his face what was in her mouth, chuckling when he flinched.

Water… ice cold water ran down from his face and onto his lips. He licked them and only now realised how much he needed it. The Gerudo woman released her grip and placed the bottle in the centre of the room. She turned around to face Link who was still licking his lips (even though they held no more water) and found that she pitied the man. How pathetic to be licking droplets of water from his hands and lips that would hardly make a difference.

"When you tried to escape I shot you in your ankle with my own arrow. It was tipped with the poison of a Lizalfos. The right amount can simply knock a person unconscious but an overdose can kill you. That bottle is half full of water but I doubt you will be able to reach it."

"And why's that?" Link's cold reply was. Why was she telling him all this?

She walked over to him and held up some chains. He hadn't noticed before but his ankles had been chained to the walls… but there were more. She started to bring out more chains that were connected to the wall and chained two more to his wrists. A final one was brought up to his neck and with a click was locked. All through this Link hadn't spoken or struggled. There was no point – not anymore.

"Afraid I'll escape again?" he asked, he had already guessed the answer though. A new form of torture, yippee.

"I think you already know the answer to that question." she whispered. Grabbing his face again she kissed him. Link struggled and squirmed against the kiss... and paid for it. She bit his lip hard and drew blood. She retreated and used her snake-like tongue to lick the side of his face. He was revolted.

"If you're lucky I'll come back… you're a good kisser." she gave him a final kiss and turned to leave. The door was opened for her by another guard but before she left, she stopped.

"Drink up sweetie." and with that she cackled out of the dungeon before the door slammed shut and Link was plunged into darkness.

* * *

This is my first Fanfiction and I would love it if you could review or point out any mistakes. Anything would be good to help me and if you don't understand anything then I'll be happy to answer questions unless the answer is revealed in another chapter. Do you think T was the correct age rating for this? Thanks for reading! ;) ;) ;)


	3. The quest begins

Zelda threw open open the doors of her cupboard. A sweet lavender scent filled her nose as she reached in for her black cloak. It had been handed down through the royal family from mother to daughter, father to son and now belonged to the Princess Zelda.

She removed her jewellery and replaced her gloves with plain leather brown ones. Throwing the cloak over herself she brushed her hand over the silver, hand sewn embroidery. Her fingers traced the Sheikah eye clip below the hood before clipping the buttons together and reached out for the mini triforce statue with the three goddesses surrounding it. She grabbed the bottom left ones' arm and twisted it all the way around until she heard a click. Suddenly, the side of the marble fireplace creaked and shuddered before retreating behind the wall next to it and disappearing. An old, stone staircase beckoned to her as Zelda heard the squeak of diseased bats reach her ears. With one final look over to the window, the stars twinkled in response to her stare. Holding her breathe, she stepped her leather boot onto a dirty step and clutched the horse whistle close to her chest. Just when she had reached the bottom step, she lit her lamp as a black shadow flew into her face…

* * *

Zelda waved her arms in her face to shoo the bat away. She felt contaminated by its touch and rubbed a cloth she had brought with her over her face. Before continuing through the sewer tunnels, she pulled out a stone with the sheikah symbol engraved on the front. Above her, a gentle creak was heard before a slight thud as the stone wall was replaced.

Jumping to the other side of the sewer platform, Zelda reminded herself of the way out. She whispered it over and over, cutting off the parts she had already walked through and remembered the first time she had met Link.

 _He had crawled through these very sewers with the assistance of Midna and had arrived at Zelda's room (then her prison) with a grinning imp upon hid back and a rotten smell that stuck to his fur… he had been so cute as a wolf!_

Pulling on a chain hanging from the ceiling, a barred door was lifted up and Zelda quickly ran through. SLAM! She had only had a few seconds to pass through the door before becoming Princess Pancake! She took a few minutes to recover before continuing through the tunnel when a roar of laughter echoed around the stone walls. As Zelda cautiously walked through the small tunnel (with a dim light at the end) she heard voices:

"It could have been a ghost..."

"Ghosts can't touch objects, that's why they float through walls!"

"It was just the wind rookie."

The royal guards erupted into laughter once again at the thought of a ghost slamming a door. Oops, the door was heavier than she thought.

She jumped to the other side of the platform above the bar where the castle soldiers were wasting away on alcohol. Telma was a good friend and the barmaid of this pub and would have gladly supplied her with food for the journey if she could jump down to say hello, but the guards were there.

Zelda watched below her as Telma's white cat, Louise, stretched and walked out of the open door and into the clear, cool night. She followed the cat through the open window in front of her and used the crates that had been delivered earlier that day as steps to reach the cat at the bottom. Good thing she had sent a letter to Telma asking her to leave them there.

Reaching the bottom, Zelda outstretched her hand to the cat as a friendly greeting. Louise sniffed it and, satisfied, turned her tail towards the princess and ran up the nearby steps and into the street. Zelda broke into a fast walk as she followed Louise through the closed market and towards the large wooden gates that were the south doors to the town and was glad to see that the guard was asleep.

She slipped through the gap of the two large doors to find the snow-white cat sitting in front of her, facing the other way. Approaching her, Zelda reached into her cloak and pulled out the dried fish treats she had packed earlier and dropped them into a pile in front of Louise. Giving her a final stroke – and Louise mewing her thanks – Zelda rushed down the steps and into the Southern gardens.

She slowed down and remembered the skeletal dogs liked to gather here at night. Cautiously, Zelda walked across the grass and over to the two boulders that made the pathway to South Hyrule field. As soon as the first tree was in sight, Zelda brought the horse whistle up to her lips and blew. Such a sweet melody for a quest so dangerous.

Hooves thundered on the ground towards Zelda as she braced herself… and just at the last moment. The thundering stopped as the hot breathe of a horse billowed into her face. Zelda opened her eyes to see her old friend and, giving the horse a gentle pat, grabbed her reigns and leapt onto her back.

"Come on Epona, we only have till morning."

* * *

Thank you for reading so far, I hope you are enjoying my story! Any comments you would like to make or any mistakes you have spotted I would love to hear them so please review!


	4. Ordon village

The wind whipped the cloak behind Zelda as Epona rode against the breeze towards the tree line. She started to slow down as she reached a narrow path that had been carved out by the Ordon people generations ago. Intimidating rock walls covered in thick trees that were bunched together in tight-knit groups; Epona seemed to know automatically where to go as she carried Zelda into the heart of the small village.

The houses seemed to be made out of hollowed out tree trunks with roofs made of clay tiles (they reminded her of a village she read about in the history of Hyrule. Kokiri was it?) Each house had a pair of goat horns hanging by the door which the occupants of the house had attached something symbolic onto. The little stream that ran through the middle of the village cascaded over a small ledge into a lake filled with fish. The water wheel attached to a house on the other of the little bridge (in front of the pumpkin patch) creaked with each turn of the wheel.

Zelda looked around at each house from where she was standing and was surprised to see only 4 houses were visible. She had passed another one on the way in so that made 5 but she doubted that the path with a sign saying 'ranch' would have any houses up there.

By instinct (and common sense) Zelda made her way across another small bridge to her left, up the shallow hill and knocked on the door of the largest house. Please say this was the mayor's house – she didn't want to wake anyone else up.

There was no response. She knocked again, a little louder this time, and waited. Now, she heard the creak of steps as someone was coming down to see who could be knocking at the door in the middle of the night. The handle of the door turned and Zelda was met by a large man with a pot belly and a moustache that was separated in two and in the shape of horns. He was yawning and had his eyes closed so when he saw Zelda, she was not surprised that he shouted "MONSTER!" before slamming the door in her face. Maybe she should have taken her hood off first…

"Mayor Bo? Please open the door, I'm princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"P… P… Princess!?" he stammered.

Just in time Zelda pulled off her hood so as not to startle him again and gave a slight smile when he opened the door and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Come in, please. I just hope I didn't wake up half the village!" he chuckled as he gestured with his hand into his home.

Zelda stepped onto the wooden floor of the Mayor's home. She could barely see where she going and wondered how on earth the man had made it down the stairs without falling when he lit a lamp, mumbling about it 'going out'. There was a rounded dining table in the middle with four chairs surrounding it and a bunch of flowers in the centre in a beautifully painted vase.

Mayor Bo pulled out a chair for Zelda and brought out a large plate with a half eaten cake sitting on top of it. He placed it on the wooden surface along with two smaller plates and a knife as Zelda took her place at the table.

"Oh, no thank you. I only have until dawn before I have to ride back to the castle… no one really knows I'm gone."

"Well, if you won't I will. Pumpkin cake, my daughter made it. What brings you here your majesty?" his voice was deep and intimidating but also gentle and jolly.

"It's about Link. Please, I need to know where he's gone. One minute he's living in the castle and the next he's vanished off the map without a trace. None of the guards can find him and it's been a whole year now."

He considered this for moment before sighing. "That's the thing. No one here has seen him and just before he disappeared he kept going into Faron woods and coming back, he would tell my daughter Ilia about a 'skull kid'. He said that it was a child like creature dressed in orange with a trumpet and a face like a skull. Every day he would come here on Epona and try to communicate with it. He said it liked to play chasing games and if he won, he would ask it something and it would gladly reply. That's all I know at the moment but he said he didn't tell you about it in case you got worried, the games could be dangerous. Ilia might know more but she said that that was everything Link told her and I don't want to wake her, I asked her if she knew anything when he disappeared." he finished his story and stared at the princess. She was deep in thought until her eyes widened and she stared at the man.

"Where can I find it?"

Mayor Bo finished his slice of cake and licked his fingers (he had been taking bites between sentences). Standing up, he hobbled over to a large blue chest and opened it. After some rummaging in the papers, he emerged from its contents with a single, rolled up scroll in his hands. He returned to the table and rolled out the paper, using the cake plates and flowers to stop the paper rolling up again.

"Link drew this shortly before he disappeared and gave it to me for safe keeping. Follow the arrows he's drawn and instructions are in the corner. You can keep this one, I have a spare."

Zelda rolled up the paper and placed it carefully into her cloak pocket before looking out of the window… it was already dawn.

"Thank you Mayor but I really must go. I'll tell you if I find anything."

She opened the door and leapt onto Epona's back. The Mayor had followed her and, seeing Epona, smiled.

"I see that your using Epona, I'll tell Ilia that she's OK." he paused before adding: "Um… Princess? Was there anything going on between you two? And if there was, just so you know, there was nothing between Link and Ilia."

Zelda considered his question before answering.

"I… I think there was." and with that she nudged Epona and galloped over the bridge, out of the village, and out of sight.

* * *

Sorry I didn't write over the weekend but I was away. I'll put chapter 5 up tomorrow and I would love a review considering no one had done so yet...

Thanks for reading!


	5. The Skull Kid

"Princess? Are you all right?" a maid knocked at the door as Zelda stuffed her cloak back into the cupboard. The secret passage was only just closing as she made her way over to the door and unlocked it.

"Sorry I… I must have slept in. Could you ask for my breakfast to be brought here? Just some milk, fruit and bread will be fine, I'm not feeling too well."

"Of course Princess." the maid left with a small smile to prepare the breakfast and was surprised that the princess was so tired. Maybe some honey in the milk and soup on the side would be a nice treat for her, she had always helped in the kitchens when she was little.

But Zelda was not feeling sick at all. She had to follow that map to the skull kid, it had to know something about Link, there was no other option. But before she left, Zelda went over to the bookshelf and took down the book on Faron woods. Just behind it was the History of Hyrule. She took that down as well as an extra precaution.

What she found was of great interest. Whilst munching on her breakfast and sipping the soup that Mary (the maid) had brought her, she had been reading – her eyes whizzing back and forth across the page. The book on Faron woods merely told of the legends of the skull kid but the History of Hyrule had given her an idea. It told of a time when Hyrule had been invaded centuries ago and the princess had become part of the Sheikah tribe. She had called herself Sheik and hidden her identity in order to help The Hero of Time*. Maybe Zelda could do the same. She could handle a bow and sword pretty well and before the old lady in the abandoned village had passed away a couple of months ago she had taught Zelda how to use Sheikah needles. As a child, Impaz had taught Zelda how to fight, wield a sword and shoot an arrow and with a shoot of pain Zelda remembered the funeral. Impaz had been given a full Sheikah tribe funeral, (as she had been the last of the tribe) burning the body in a coffin embedded with the Sheikah eye in a small boat. Zelda had shot the flaming arrow herself and had felt sorry for Link that he couldn't attend… maybe he didn't even know that she had died, wherever he was.

*None of this had ever actually happened as the hero had travelled forward in time in order to be old enough to fight the threat to Hyrule. When he had defeated it the princess had sent him back to his own time with a magical instrument and only he and the princes had remembered what had happened so they had decided to record their adventures in this book which would be handed down in the royal family for generations to come.

* * *

Zelda looked at herself in the mirror. Her mouth was covered, her hair in a long plait and was dressed in dark blue trousers and a long sleeved top. They were both leather and the trousers had pockets sewn all the way down the legs that would conceal supplies. Her outfit included two knife sheaths (one on top of the other) that was attached to her lower back which held the deadly blades with light weight handles and leather grips. Her shoes were soft for feeling her way around but were sturdy and wouldn't brake. They wouldn't even allow a sharp edge to touch her feet. Over the top she wore a white cloth that had a hole for her head and were connected just below the arms. It bore the Sheikah eye on the front – a single tear dropping from the eye. She had a sword in her belt and her trouser pockets were full of the long needles – the perfect Sheikah weapon.

Comparing herself to the picture in the book of Hyrule's History, she was glad that the maids who made her clothes were so kind. Not only had she helped in the kitchens during her child hood, but had also helped with the sewing and other little jobs that needed doing. Who knew that and would help in the long run?

Once again, she grabbed her horse whistle and lamp and twisted the arm of the goddess statue. She hurried down the steps of the passageway and pulled out the stone once again. When she reached Telma's bar she leaped across to the window and followed Louise to the southern fields, leaving the usual pile of fish treats, and called Epona on the whistle.

She rode across the fields towards Faron woods and rode through the narrow little path. Was it her imagination or were more Bokoblins on the path? However, they posed no threat as Epona merely kicked them out of the way with her powerful hooves. She came across the skinny man with an afro that he used as a birds nest and left Epona in his care, leaving a single gold coin in his hand.

She hurried over to the fork in the road ahead of her. To her right was the path leading to Ordon village, to her left was an open gate with a discarded lock to the side. This was the path she would take. She passed through the gate and lit her lamp in the cave she had just entered. It was dark and damp here with huge spider webs – larger than her – and old oil lamps stood abandoned, the metal had started to rust. Bats had made nests here too, great, hopefully they wouldn't attack her.

She attached her lamp to the front of her belt and gathered her cape in her hands, lifting it off the floor. Quickly, she walked through the cave, burning the webs with her lamp on the way ( like it said on the map). At last, when a light at the end of the tunnel was visible, Zelda breathed a sigh of relief. The cave had started to make her feel claustrophobic.

As soon as she had left the cave, she was met with a rotten stench. A purple gas stung her eyes and as she shut them closed she fiddled around her belt for the lamp. Finding it, she swung it around her hand as the light banished the smoke away – not able to reach the princess in disguise as the smoke retreated into the shadows.

Zelda opened her eyes and saw that a perfect circle had formed around her as protection from the smoke. She continued to the other side of the mini valley and every couple of steps, swung the lamp around her head. She weaved in between natural stone towers and thick tree trunks before coming to yet another open gate with a discarded lock. She passed through the open gate and came to a small circular field surrounded by rock walls where she turned left.

"SQWARK! Buy something! SQWARK!"

Zelda let out a small scream as she looked to her left to see a brightly coloured bird (with what seemed to be an afro) flapping around a small potions shop. She breathed a sigh of relief and passed the bird without another thought. As she climbed up a dead tree root, she chuckled to herself as she thought about what Link would have done when he had first met the bird.

Stopping on top of the tree trunk. She looked down at the rings rippling from the centre and realised how old this tree must have been. But not nearly as old as the tree at the end of a natural bridge whose leaves cast shadows over her. Just as she looked up, she heard an eerie giggle.

The trees that had long since died had created ledges that formed a path to a hollow tree trunk on the other side of a small canyon. She couldn't see the bottom and the ledges had gaps in between that were too wide to jump across. And the second ledge, stood a child. Dressed in orange with a small trumpet and curved green shoes. It had a large leaf on its back as a cape and smaller ones decorated its hat. A wide toothy grin spread across its skull face as it glared at her.

"Are you the skull kid?" there was no response. "Do you know Link?". It's small eyes widened to their fullest and, with a giggle, there was a crack and both Zelda and the skull kid disappeared.

* * *

Thanks for reading so far and thank you to winterrose782000 for being the first the comment on this story. They will be getting a sneak peak of the story line soon and I would love it if more people commented. If you notice any spelling mistakes just remember that this is English spelling, not American. Reviews help a lot in my confidence for writing this and I would even love it if there is some criticism so that I can make improvements. Thank you!


	6. Time to play

Zelda landed with a thud on the ground which was followed with a ghostly giggle. She lifted herself off the lush, wet grass and whipped out her dagger as an extra precaution. Great, now how was she going to get back?

Looking around, she noticed that the trees here were thick at their trunk and the branches so full of leaves and so long, that hardly any light reached the forest floor. There were patches here and there but it was a miracle the grass was so lush with so little ligh.

Suddenly, there was a rattle (bones?). Puppet like creatures with wide, toothy grins fell from the trees and cocked their heads to the side as they targeted their prey. Zelda lashed out at the puppets, but her dagger was useless. She back flipped and almost lost her balance but remained standing as she pulled out her sword. It wasn't her usual elegant one but a sword worthy of war. The handle was a dull grey and wrapped in a brown leather that had been wrapped around the hilt in a criss-cross pattern, stopping at the bottom of the blade. It caught the light as the sharp edge of the sword thirsted for blood… and Zelda would give it its fill.

She lashed out at the puppets and in seconds it was over. Glaring down at the bodies, she counted four in total before they disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

"Hee hee hee! Very good! Very good! Catch me if you can!"  
Zelda peered up into the trees and saw the skull kid jumping up and down, blowing the trumpet as it did so. Music started in the distance as the ball of orange leapt down and hurried through a hollowed out tree trunk that made a path to another section of the woods. Following the music, Zelda jogged towards the trunk and pulled out a Sheikah needle… it was time to play.

* * *

The Sheikah needle flew through the air and lodged itself in the skull kids' hat. There was a crack as it reappeared behind Zelda and scurried through yet another hollow tree trunk. She had already hit it three times and the map said you only had to hit it several times – how long would this take?

She hurried after it and slashed at the puppets that stood in her way. More and ore of them had been appearing quicker than before and although they were easy to defeat, they were starting to get in her way. Zelda jumped up and over the puppets, turned around and brought them down with her sword in one movement. She took out yet another Sheikah needle, aimed and threw it towards the sound of a trumpet that was quickly replaced with a small yelp from the demon child. But instead of it running off again, it giggled.

"Hee hee hee! That was fun! What does the warrior want I wonder?"

Zelda glanced up at the trees and shouted at the thin air, she wasn't even sure if the skull kid would reply.

"Do you know where Link is… the one dressed in green?" there was a pause before another giggle interrupted the silence.

"He was my friend, we played together. He reminded me of a friend I think I used to have hundreds of years ago before I became this… I can take you to him if you like."

Zelda nodded and a split second later there was another crack. When she opened her eyes again (she would always close her eyes when the crack happened) she was standing next to Epona who had an orange blur jumping around on her back. It stopped jumping as soon as it saw her and leant against the horses neck – she wasn't bothered about the weight one bit.

"So, where are we going?"

"Not to Link. First, you are going to get me three things, then we'll go on a rescue mission. I think we should head to Zora's domain first." its squeaky voice ended in another giggle when the skull kid saw Zelda's face. She couldn't ignore it, this was her only lead. With a sigh she nodded at the skull kid but before she told Epona to go, she rummaged in her cloak for another gold coin and dropped it in front of the man with the afro. He had been staring – dumbstruck – at the peculiar trio ever since they had appeared out of thin air. His mouth was wide open and the birds atop his head had stopped twittering.

"You never saw us, we were never here. You will not come follow us. Thank you for looking after the horse." She nudged Epona and trotted off into the distance. The sound of a trumpet being played fading away as the man called Coro glared at the gate that the three had just exited through. This was even more peculiar than that fellow dressed in green.

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Thank you for reading so far and as always I would love reviews. I'll add another chapter on Sunday so then I can write a few chapters so that I am always 5 chapters ahead of what you guys are reading. Thanks! ;) ;) :) :)


	7. Decisions, decisions

"But why now sir? Why not when we brought him in?" the bulblins' voice shook as he asked his master. King Bulblin grinned as he showed his yellow teeth – they still had bits of the raw meat stuck in them from his last meal. The light of the slowly burning torches gleamed in his devilish eyes as the scrape of daggers sharpening his large horns broke the silence.

"He is broken. Before, he was strong. All we have to do is 'promise no one will get hurt'." he had put on a baby voice for the last sentence and had finished with a roar of laughter. His ham sized fist tugged at a chain next to him and, with a gasp of pain, a Gerudo stepped out of the shadows – her neck bound by the thick metal collar. She walked over to king and knelt down into a bow; her arms were raised above her, holding a silver plate full of dying lights… fairies. No sooner had his pot belly grumbled, than he had taken a fistful of the fairies and shoved them into his mouth. The Gerudo started to back away but just before she could return to her place, the chain was tugged so hard that she dropped the plate and landed on the kings' naked chest. He placed a large, slobbery kiss as she tried to push him away, but it was no use. He licked her chest as his muscular (yet fatty) arms wrapped themselves around her waist. She let out a scream and pushed away from the monster who let go at the last second and watched as she landed on the hard, stone floor, banging her arm on his wooden throne.

"If my people found out about this-" she whispered.

"Which they won't. And even if they did, they wouldn't do a thing. _I_ saved your people from starvation. _I_ gave them a way to survive. To throw all that away for one stupid, treacherous girl would be madness… bring him in!"

* * *

Link was pushed through the metal doorway by two bulblins with menacingly thick clubs. Strange… usually the Gerudo are the ones who took him from place to place.

He pushed himself up and looked around the room that he now found himself in. There were six stone pillars, three on each side in this rectangular room and each one had a bulblin (with a club each) in front of it. Behind the pillars were tables overflowing with food and drink (the meat was raw on some plates) and torches lined the walls. Down the middle was a worn out red carpet which stopped at the foot of a raised platform with a simple wooden throne on top of it. There was one bulblin on each side along with larger torches behind them.

But as he looked at the throne, he was disgusted. The fat lump that was King Bulblin stank of rotting flesh that even Link could smell at the other end of the room! He looked like he had never had a wash and his shoulders were littered with tiny specks of white where the shavings from his horns had fallen. And just below him, was a slim figure, a Gerudo hardly dressed in anything except for a tiny, red bikini and her hair had been decorated with with the shiniest rubies. But around her neck was a metal collar, worse than the one he had just been released from. Her face, although beautiful, was sad and desperate and her eyes were no longer fearsome, but filled with tears. She was the Gerudo who had chained him up, but he couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

"Aha! Link! Come in, come in. We have much to discuss! I'm sure you've met my pretty friend here before" King Bulbin sounded like a snake inviting you for dinner as he said this. Warily, Link approached the steps to the throne but didn't climb up them.

"Not that I don't love to finally meet my so called employers, but what do you want?"

The King smiled and tugged on the chain attached to the Gerudos' neck. She got up from the floor and raised a silver plate in her hands up to him whilst in a bow, it was clear she had done this before. King Bulblin picked out a bright light and shoved it into his mouth followed by a grunt; Link hoped that the lights weren't what he thought they were. The Gerudo put the plate down and stood perfectly still… how long had she been here? No longer than a week Link thought.

"I want to release you." the words were barely a whisper when they came out of King Bulblins' mouth but nevertheless, reached Links' ears. He was shocked, but of course there would be a catch.

"What for?" Link scowled at the monster whose life he had spared in all those battles. Who now made his life a misery and only now wanted to release him.

"I am so glad you asked! I want you to help me break into Hyrule castle. It's only a simple robbery, nothing more, nothing less and nobody will get hurt."

"No."

The smile faded from King Bulblins' face.

"Well… there is another choice then but I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, let me tell you a story first though. After you defeated me for the last time, I retreated to the desert where I found the Gerudo tribe. They were starving and sick and all of them were close to death, so I took them in. I fed them, gave them shelter and work in my desert hideout and soon they were thriving. I have succeeded in becoming their saviour and now, they are my slaves-"

"If you're going to kill me as the second choice at least do it with a weapon – don't bore me to death." Link interrupted. However, the king carried on as if he hadn't heard a thing.

"Naboora here didn't like my methods however, and she tested my patience. She continuously angered me until I could take no more, thinking I would go into a rage showing my true colours to the Gerudo so that they would leave me… but she was wrong. So when you two had your little moment, a passing bulblin reported it to me and now she's mine." he yanked at the chain and she flew threw the air and landed on top of him. He licked her cheek as his arms wrapped themselves around her squirming body. He was showing the extent of his power to Link – that he could do anything to anyone whenever he liked.

In anger, Link leaped over to the nearest bulblin guard and yanked the club out of his hands and threw it at the King. It crushed his hand with a crack and, in pain, he released Naboora and the chain. Collapsing on the floor, she gave a small yelp and then rushed over to Link, punching the bulblin that had leapt into the air at Link. It thudded onto the floor and scurried behind the nearest pillar, clutching its bruised cheek.

"You're quicker than before. Forgive me but I have never actually bothered to watch your fights and when you fought me before I wasn't very skilled in combat." King Bulblin panted. He was clutching his hand which was now limp and bloody.

The reason I am telling you all this is so that you can understand my power, my authority, There is something I want very much in the castle that happens to belong to the princess. She wears it every day as you probably know and I can get it without your help but there will be bloodshed, you would only be there so I wouldn't have to kill anyone*. Your second choice however… is to kill her." he pointed with his non-broken hand at Naboora who stepped back, away from Link with fear in her eyes.

"You either kill her, or you help me get into the castle and I doubt you would care about what happened this filth. So hero… what's your choice?"

*Link doubted this.

* * *

Thanks for reading so far and as always I would love reviews! Oh and to whoever pointed out the grammar mistakes thank you! My spell check kept correcting it even when it was correct and it got really annoying but I managed to fix it. Thanks ;) :)


	8. King Ralis

The skull kid heaved the largest rock he had found over the side of the cliff and watched as it tumbled through the air and splashed into the clear water of Zora's lake. It lifted his head and looked at Zelda with what she supposed was a smile. She made a mental note to apologise to the now King of the Zoras and continued up the path that was decorated with shells. The river powered itself towards the waterfall as she heard the skull kid jump with delight at dropping another large stone. She entered the Zora's throne room and crossed the small steps that were submerged in water that only just touched the edge. King Ralis was perched on his throne with a guard on either side and was startled to see a warrior with a face that was mostly covered. All the Zoras in the throne room were suddenly alert and had pulled out all sorts of weapons that included spears, knives and large fish hooks on chains that would hook its victims' flesh and would not let go easily.

King Ralis, however, had stayed perfectly still and stared at the stranger who approached his throne and bowed, their hand in a fist over their heart. He recognised the sign of the Sheikah tribe on the figures chest and considered this strange. The Sheikah tribe had long since died out – the last had been the princess' personal trainer… and this information was only known to the heads of the tribes.

Ralis signalled for his people to lower their weapons. They lowered them, but didn't put them away – they still remembered all too well what had happened to their late queen.

"What is your business here warrior? I do not recall inviting anyone to my domain." King Ralis spoke with dignity, he was no longer a child. Zelda paused before replying, thinking about what she could say without sounding crazy.

"Forgive me your majesty but I am here on urgent business. I am on a quest to find the hero of our realm. I believe you know him as Link." Ralis looked shocked at these last words.

"Yes, I know him. But why do you hide your identity? And what do you need from the Zora tribe?"

"I do not know exactly what I need. I have a… companion who knows where to find Link but at a price. They are waiting outside but I am afraid that they will only speak in a private place. Is that possible?"

"I have heard of his disappearance so I will help you find Link as he once saved my life. But only if you reveal who you are; in a private place if it must be so. And who is this friend of yours?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, it would be better to meet them. Oh and I am sorry for their behaviour, they've been throwing rocks into the lake below the waterfall."

* * *

King Ralis sat down on the grass of Lake Hylia and invited Zelda to join him. He took a gulp of water from his water pouch and offered some to her which she gladly accepted after having to walk all the way to the lake. The would have taken a boat but it had been smashed against some rocks and was still being repaired. As Zelda gave back the water, she was startled at how young the Zora was to be a King. She wouldn't be Queen until her 18th birthday (which was in a year) and Ralis could only be about 15; but she brushed it aside, besides they were a completely different tribe.

"Come, the cave of the spirit will be a safe place to talk. There you can show me your identity and this… skull kid can tell us what he wants from my tribe." Ralis got up and made his way over to a large cave with two taller pillars on each side of the entrance. Both the cave and the pillars had yet more carvings on them, made to look like water – it was strangely hypnotising.

They entered the cave and were met with a large pool of water, at least 3 meters deep and 4 meters wide with paths all around the outside covered in lush grass. On either side, there was a ledge covered in ivy that led to another level of the cave. Ralis started running and, at the last moment, he jumped and grabbed onto the ivy and started to climb. He heaved himself over the edge and beckoned to Zelda to do the same. Just as she started running, the Skull kid leapt onto her back and linked its arms around her neck and stood on the knife sheaths behind her hip. With a smile, she followed Ralis up to the wall and over to the back of the cave. At first glance, she never would have noticed that the many vines that hung down from the ceiling were actually hiding a small, round door with more carvings decorating it. Ralis merely pushed the door to the side and walked in, with Zelda and the skull kid not far behind. As soon as they had entered, the door slammed back into position behind them without anyone needing to close it.

"As a child I would often come here if I needed somewhere to be alone. So warrior, who are you?" Ralis asked. He had made himself comfortable by sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Zelda joined him and pulled down the mask that covered her face.

"Princess Zelda of Hyrule." Ralis didn't even look surprised by this information but merely smiled.

"I thought so! We once met when I was 11 years old, you were 15 at the time but I could never forget your eyes. I trusted you as soon as I met you because of your eyes but now they are also filled with despair, worry and fear. Perhaps that is because of the war that happened a year after our first meeting… or perhaps because of the disappearance of a friend? And what does the skull kid want?"

"Link has been gone for nearly a whole year and the skull kid is the only one who knows where he is but it needs three things first and this is my only lead. Skull kid? What do you want from the Zora tribe?" The skull kid cocked its head at Zelda and stopped bouncing around in an open chest that was at the back of the small cave. It seemed to consider her question and then closed the chest and sat down on it, its legs crossed.

"What do I want I wonder? Perhaps a Zora weapon? Or a fishing rod? Hmm… I want a Zora scale. There are deep pools in the lost woods which I wish to explore!" Zelda looked at King Ralis with a sense of dread. Zoras do lose scales from time to time which can be used to breathe under water for a short amount of time but they do not fall very often.

"I do not have any Zora scales spare. But I do have something better if the Skull kid is interested?"

"The Skull kid is very interested!" it squeaked. It was jumping up and down, peering at the young Zora with great interest.

"Before he died, my father created a tunic that would allow those who are not Zoras to swim and breathe under water like one. He made one for The Hero of legend and a smaller one for a child. Why he created a tunic for a child is unknown to me, but it may just fit the Skull kid and I know how to make another one in case someone else needs it."

"Brilliant! Where can we find one?" Zelda asked. She would be one step closer to finding Link.

"At he bottom of the lake. I just don't know where." Zelda's smile faded.

"Could you search for us? Please, I need that tunic to find Link."

"My mother said that the adult tunic was at the grave of my father so there might be something there if we have a look. But it will be a days ride from here if we don't take the river."  
Zelda thought… and thought. Wherever Link was, he could be in serious danger and needed to be found quickly. The Skull kid could be using her. She didn't have any other leads.

"Skull kid, can you warp from one place to another without ever having been there? Can you take others with you?"

The skull kid nodded.

"Good, take us to the grave of the Zora king."

"Hee hee hee, you think it would be that simple? I need to know exactly what it looks like, at least the grave or we'll split in two!" it giggled again and laughed at the princess' desperateness. Zelda snapped her head to the Zora king who was startled by her sudden movement. At once, he seemed to understand what she wanted and started to draw the grave in the dirt. When he had finished, the grave looked like one that was fit for Zora royalty with the tribes' symbol on the front. The Skull kid took one look at the drawing, closed his eyes… and there was a loud crack.


	9. Prisoner companion

Link clenched his fists. What should he do? If he killed Naboora then he would be killing the only Gerudo who ever went against King Bulblin, even if she had chained him up and humiliated him. And if he didn't kill her and helped them break into the castle there would be bloodshed, even if the King promised him otherwise… Naboora would probably be tortured at the very least.

Link looked towards Naboora. She had her back against the wall and had a hand over her heart. Her breathing was rapid and beads of sweat had started to appear on her forehead. She may look like one, but she wasn't a true Gerudo and for that Link made his decision. He unclenched his fists and looked at King Bulblin. With a sigh, he walked up to the throne and stared at King Bulblin with all the hate he could muster.

"What do you need help with?"

* * *

Link was thrown into his cell, knocking the bottle of water that had been stood n the centre. He twisted himself around and was about to get up, when there was a small scream and Naboora was pushed in, tripping on the stairs and landing on top of Link. The door slammed and they were plunged into darkness.

"You OK?" Link asked, she was still on top of him but he didn't mind, he could feel that she was scared.

"Yes..." her voice was shaking. She lifted herself off Link and rolled onto the floor. She lay there, staring at the ceiling and Link knew that she was holding back tears. He sat up and faced the dark shape that was Naboora and once again felt sorry for her. She may have chained him up but that was to go against King Bulblin… he didn't see how but she had still angered him, and that helped Link in the long run.

He shuffled over to her and she sat up, facing him. There was barely any light in the cell so Link couldn't see her face and wondered now if it would be covered in silent tears.

"Why didn't you kill me?" she whispered, her voice was still shaky.

"Because even if I did, King Bulblin wouldn't let me go and I could never kill someone who went against him even if they had chained me up." Link replied, it was the truth but he was careful not to mention the kiss when she was on the verge of tears.

"Why do you think they locked you up? Me, of course they would… but why you when you agreed to help them?"

"Because I am still their slave and now you are too. They have no need of me now and they never did. If I had killed you then it would tell them that I am so broken that I don't care about right or wrong any more and they probably would've used me as some sort if assassin. But by not killing you and agreeing to help them, it shows I still have spirit and they put you with me so that I know they are not hurting you. After spending so much time around guys like that I've learnt how to recognise their intentions."

Link raised his head and heard Naboora let out a shaky sigh.

"You're not like other Gerudo you know. The others would have let me kill them or kill themselves instead of being defeated. The others wouldn't even have gone against the King, so why did you?"

"I don't know… the only thing I can think of is that I am named after an ancient leader of the Gerudo who fought against an evil that had come from our tribe. Eventually, she found out that she was a Sage of spirit and helped someone they called The Hero of Time, defeating the evil. Maybe it's not just my name that came from her, but a bit of my spirit too." Naboora finished, a bit calmer than before, but still on the verge of tears. Link would have doubted her story if he wasn't the chosen hero, then again if he wasn't the chosen hero, he would never be here in the first place.

"I've never told anyone that before, they wouldn't have believed me..." suddenly, she broke into tears and started sobbing. She had brought her knees up to her chest and had her head in her hands. Link shuffled next to her and put an arm around her as she leaned against him but continued to sob. After a couple of minutes, her breathing slowed down and she became quieter, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears from her face. She put a hand on Links' naked chest and sighed.

"Thank you for not killing me..." she whispered. Naboora leaned in and kissed him. Not like before, this time it was kind but Link didn't know if this was what he wanted. He backed away and leaned against the floor with an elbow. He had hardly realised that she had pushed him back slightly, almost on top of him.

"Look, I know you have just escaped from being King Bulblins...entertainment. But don't you think that that has something to do with what's going on here? You're upset and probably don't realise what you're doing. Get some rest, you can use my old so called bed. You'll feel better, believe me."

He felt for her hand and led her over to what used to be his tunic and top where she laid down. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty for rejecting her.

"Link? Could… could you stay with me? I won't do anything you don't like." Naboora whispered. Link smiled with sympathy even though she couldn't see and lay down next to her. She was cold but that wasn't surprising considering what she was wearing. He wrapped an arm around her for warmth and he felt a final tear fall onto his hand.

"Thank you..."

Naboora let out a shaky sigh before her breathing slowed and she fell asleep. It wasn't long before Link also closed his eyes and fell asleep by her side, wishing that his first kiss had been with Zelda instead.

* * *

Thank you for reading so far and I hope you are enjoying it! I hope the chapters aren't too short and please comment! ;) ;) :) :)


	10. Zora Armour

They appeared right in front of the royal Zora grave. Already, the Skull kid was bouncing up and down on the headstone with its wave patterns and had splashed Zelda with water from the large pond behind them. They were standing on a small ledge covered in grass and across the water was a similar ledge, only smaller with a tunnel that continued into the rock wall that surrounded them. Boulders sat undisturbed at the bottom of the pond had once been part of the rock walls but had fallen for one reason or another.

As soon as Ralis had recovered from being warped from Lake Hylia to his ancestors grave, he had shaken his head and had started digging in front of the grave, searching for something. After 10 minutes, he had been able to dig about half a meter into the ground, which had been softened by the water, and had still found nothing. Zelda had helped him but they knew that there would be nothing there for them to find so they turned instead to the stone. King Ralis started reading the inscriptions, down to the tiniest detail but had found nothing at all.

At last, they gave up. They had searched all around the grave but there was nothing new to be found. In defeat, Zelda leant against the wall and Ralis joined her, taking out his water pouch as he sat down.

"Ouch!" Ralis jumped up from his seat almost straight away and stood up. He turned towards the wall, rubbing his back and looking curiously at the bare rock.

"What is it?" Zelda asked, puzzled at his pain.

"It's the wall. You wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely but there's a small crack… look."

Zelda faced the wall and saw a thin crack climbing all the way to the top of the cliff, it was wider at the bottom and she could feel a draft.

"There's a draft." Zelda reached out a hand and traced the crack with her fingers. She put her hand in the hole but quickly brought it back out again.

"The edges are too sharp, I can't get my hand in… maybe a bomb?"

"I'll be right back." Ralis said as he jumped into the water and gracefully swam to the other ledge where he heaved himself out of the pond and crawled through the small tunnel.

* * *

"I've got it!" Ralis heaved himself out of the water with a bag strapped to his back. He went over to Zelda and took out a bomb that immediately started fizzing as he placed it by the crack. He grabbed Zelda by the arm and dragged her to the other side of the grave where he covered his ears with his fins. Just at the last moment, the skull kid rushed over to them and both Zelda and it covered their ears.

BOOM!

The bomb had exploded and had made the crack bigger, it was now a large, gaping hole in the wall that resembled a mini cave. Zelda turned around and saw the brilliant blue chest in the centre of the cave which she rushed over to and opened.

"The tunic!" Ralis was standing behind her and she saw that his face had lit up at the sight of it. He picked it up from the chests' depths and felt the cloth in his fins. He picked up the helmet and cradled it in his hands, tracing the engravings. The skull kid was jumping for joy around him, anxious to be able to put the tunic on and swim in the water. Ralis crouched down to the skull kids' level and held out the helmet. The skull kid looked up at the face of the boy king and reached out for the helmet, no longer jumping. However, just at the last moment, Ralis pulled the helmet back as his hand dived into it. The skull kid was furious. It jumped up and down all around them, screaming its anger at not having the helmet.

"Ralis! What did you do that for?!" Zelda shouted as she tried the calm the skull kid down. She had managed to grab it in her arms but it was wriggling about, trying to break free.

"Calm down skull kid, you're going to have it! Look, there's a note."

The skull kid stopped its squirming and looked at the folded piece of paper in Ralis' hand. In the other, was the helmet, it made no attempt to grab the helmet as it was afraid of being tricked again.

"What does it say?" Zelda asked. Both she and the skull kid were staring up at Ralis.

"What? Oh right, OK.

 _Son, I know we have not spent much time together due to my illness_ _but I have always loved you. Soon I will pass on from this life but I will leave you this tunic. I know you will not need it yourself, however, this will fit any child so I urge you to make friends. The person you give this to I hope will always be your friend. I am sorry we couldn't do much together but I love you without end and so does your mother. I know you will be a great ruler, I am proud of you, my son._

 _Love Dad."_ A tear rolled down Ralis' cheek as he finished the note. He folded it back up again and neatly tucked it into his pouch and then turned towards the skull kid. It was holding the helmet with a look of guilt, wanting to give it back but at the same time wanting to keep it. Slowly, it approached Ralis and held up the helmet and the tunic. Ralis took the, both and stared at them, thinking.

"As a child, I never had any friends. The children at Kakariko were kind but I never considered any to be my best friend. Skull kid? If I give this to you, will you come to Zora's domain every day and swim with me and the others? Will you be my friend?"

"The skull kid friends with a Zora? I only have two friends and skull kid would like another. Yes. I will be your friend"

Ralis put down the tunic and put the helmet on its head. It was slightly big for it but the skull kid didn't mind as he grinned under the helmet. Zelda reached for the tunic and pulled it over the skull kids' head and adjusted it to fit him with all the belt buckles that decorated the tunic. At once, the skull kid leapt into the water and swam underneath. He scared the fish and made bubbles and was soon joined by Ralis. The two splashed in the water and laughed together (the skull kids' laugh was a bit eerie) until the water became still as they sat on the bottom. Zelda squinted her eyes to see what they were doing but they had swam away from each other so quickly that she couldn't them. The water was still and silent with only the occasional splash from a fish. Where were they?

SPLASH!

Zelda was pulled into the water by two pairs of hands and was drenched in seconds. She swam to the surface for air and when she broke the surface, she was met with laughter. Ralis and the skull kid were laughing at her for not realising their trick. They had hidden on the sides of the ledge where Zelda had been standing and had pulled her in when she was least expecting it!

They laughed and splashed in the water until they noticed the sky turning a deep red above them. They dried themselves on land and lay down around the grave on the grass as they looked up at the sky. It was Ralis who broke the silence first.

"So, skull kid. What do I call you? I can't call you skull kid forever can I?" he chuckled.

"Skull kid used to have a name but skull kid can't remember. Hee hee hee… my new name will be Skull!"

Zelda lifted herself onto one shoulder and looked over at the skull kid.

"So where to next?"

* * *

Thank you for reading so far and as always I would love reviews. Any suggestions on the skull kids' personality would be great as it is a bit hard to do. And if you are confused about all of the 'it' s I do for the skull kid it is because I don't want to give it a gender just yet. Please review! ;) :)


	11. Do we have a deal?

Link awoke to sharp pain in his side as a boot was driven into his ribs.

"Get up!" Someone yelled at him. The cell was flooded with light and it took Link a few minutes for his eyes to adjust before he looked up. Surprisingly, it was a Gerudo who had kicked him and, reluctantly, he heaved himself up and tapped Naboora on the shoulder who awoke in an instant.

"I see you two got busy last night..." was it morning? "Come with me you two. The King wished to speak to each of you separately." The Gerudo walked out of the cell as Link and Naboora followed. He wondered why the Gerudo was not disgusted at one of her tribe being treated like this but Link supposed that King Bulblin had told them some lie to go against Naboora.

They were led to the door of the throne room and Link was told to enter first, leaving Naboora to wait outside. As Link approached the throne, he realised that the room hadn't change a bit except for the absence of a chained Naboora. King Bulblin was still wolfing down the fairies and the tables on the sides still had raw meat on its plates… there were more flies than before hovering over the food however.

"Ah Link! Follow me to the back room." King Bulblin struggled out of his throne and waited at the back of the room, next to a door. He turned a key in the lock and went in, followed by Link.

The room was circular with a rounded table in the middle and a large, grubby map of Hyrule on it. There were tiny figures on different places on the map, symbolising the bulblins and the Hylian troops and their positions. King Bulblin beckoned Link over to look at a different map that the King had just put over the first, knocking the tiny figures onto the floor.

"This is a map of Hyrule castle. We know the layout and without you we simply would have gone in through the front entrance killing anyone who got in our way. But we _do_ have you so all you need to do is tell us all of the little secret passages and the layout of the sewers underneath the castle. You think you can do that hero?" he taunted. Link grabbed a stick of charcoal from the table and started to put crosses on the map where the secret passages were located. Next to each one he wrote in tiny letters how to get there and when he had done that, he took another map and turned it over to the blank side and started to draw the lay out of the sewers. King Bulblin had been watching all of this with great interest and when Link had done his work, the King dismissed him with a wave of his hand as he stared at the drawings Link had done.

Link closed the door behind him and calmly walked to the door at the other end of the room and opened it, turning to Naboora. The Gerudo guard held open the door and motioned with her head for Naboora to enter which she did reluctantly, not leaving Links' gaze until the last moment when the door slammed shut.

* * *

The room was deadly silent as Naboora waited by the door for the King. The bikini she was in didn't help with the coldness of the room as goosebumps appeared on her skin, not to mention the bulblin guards who were staring at her. They all had a hungry look in the eyes and one even had his tongue out. The two bulblins at the front looked at each other and nodded. The one to the left went to the back door and opened it, peeking his head around the door.

"Your majesty, the failed Gerudo is waiting outside..."

"I'll be fifteen minutes.". The bulblin closed the door with a bow of his head.

Suddenly, the two bulblins closest to Naboora raced towards her and held their spears to her neck whilst another tied her hands together behind her. Another pushed her to the ground, pulled out a dirty cloth and brought it up to her mouth, trying to gag her. She let out a scream until a hand covered her mouth which she bit, drawing blood. The gag was brought up to her mouth again and tied behind her head in a tight knot. She felt her feet being tied together by yet another bulblin. She was helpless as she lay on the ground and watched as the bulblins formed a circle, talking amongst themselves.

"No, me!"

"No, it should be me, I tied her hands together!"

"SHUT IT!" the bulblin whose hand Naboora had bitten pushed aside the others as he approached her.

"It should be me, it was my idea and she bit my hand." he crouched down to where Naboora was lying and grabbed her shoulders. He made her sit up and licked the side of her face and her chest (this seemed to be a particular favourite of the bulblin tribe), making his way to her mouth. He kissed her and shoved his tongue down her throat despite the gag as his hands made themselves busy. She wriggled and squirmed but he was surprisingly strong for his height and held her firmly in his grasp. The others cheered their leader on from behind as they watched and laughed at Naboora. A desert warrior who had been overpowered and was now being abused.

An almighty roar echoed threw the throne room as the bulblins all turned to look behind them. King Bulblin had returned from the back room and Naboora knew that he wasn't happy. He grabbed his doubled bladed axe and swung it at the group of bulblins, crushing them to death. He then turned to the last one holding Naboora and grabbed him by the throat. He wrenched off his hands and pulled his tongue, blood squirting from his body. King Bulblin then raised him skyward and plunged him into the ground with a crack from both the floor and the dead bulblins' skull. King Bulblins' breathing had become heavy and his hands were still in fists as he turned to look at Naboora. There was a hammering at the metal door behind her as Link repeatedly shouted her name and banged against the door. The hammering stopped as a larger thud came from the door, Naboora knew that link had been knocked out.

The King went over to her and pulled off the gag and the pieces of cloth around her arms and legs and sat down on his throne. Naboora stood up and faced him, shaking.

"Why…?"

"They disobeyed me. You were mine even if I no longer wanted you for my entertainment and they went against me." he paused as she looked up at him.

"What do you want?"  
"Good, straight to business. I know that Link has become very attached to you lately so I have a favour to ask of you, unless you want to die of course." he grunted as his eyes narrowed menacingly.

"I want you to deceive him. At the right moment you are going to trick him into trusting you completely and he will tell you all of his secrets."

"And when would the right moment be?"

"You will know. But for now, I need you to comfort him, be his best friend. Maybe even a cuddle here or there. If you don't do this, I will kill both of you, starting with him." she gasped at looked up at him.

"Oh yes, it is very clear that you have feelings for him. And who knows? By the end of this, if you play your part well, I will release you both and you can go and play happy families together. And when he asks you what I wanted from you that was so important to ask you alone, you are to tell him the truth but say that you declined my offer. Do we have a deal?"

Naboora stared at the ground and allowed a tear to roll down her cheek. Slowly, she closed her eyes and nodded ever so slightly.

"Good."

* * *

Thank you for reading so far and sorry that you had to wait so long for the chapter but I have been very busy, not to mention that I didn't know what to write for this chapter. Please review! ;) ;) :) :)


	12. The Goron tribe

Zelda sighed as Skull appeared in front of her on the narrow path. After Skull had returned Ralis to Zora's domain, they had made their way to the path that led to the Goron tribe on Death Mountain. For the past hour, Zelda had been struggling up the mountain path whilst the Skull kid had warped ahead of her.

"Can't you just warp us to the top?"

"But the warrior princess knows that Skull cannot warp somewhere unless Skull knows what it looks like!"

Zelda groaned as the land levelled out. There were a few large gaps in the walls around them that made mini caves and small geysers that would shoot hot steam into the air every few seconds. The Skull kid warped to a bridge of stone above them and stared into the distance. The sun was setting on the horizon and the sky burnt a deep orange like the day before with King Ralis.

"Hee hee hee! Not long now! Should be there by nightfall!" the Skull kid chuckled as Zelda groaned.

* * *

Zelda heaved herself over the metal edge and rolled onto the platform. At last, they had made it to the Chief Gorons' house at the top of the mountain. Skull was unusually calm as it stared at the entrance, Zelda could feel the heat coming out of the cave as she stood up next to the Skull kid.

"Skull remembers a place like this… there was a forest that connected to a tribe of rock people. They always enjoyed the forest music." the Skull kid whispered. It looked up at Zelda from beneath its hat and sighed. And with that he walked into the cave with Zelda close behind.

The cave was brightly lit with torches hanging around the walls. In the middle was a raised circular platform that would be used for wrestling matches and, behind it, was yet another raised platform with a tunnel leading into the mountain that was being closely guarded by two Gorons. Besides the two guards, there were about 10 Gorons in the room and another to the right where there was an old fashioned lift. The crowd at the front had become deadly silent the moment they had set eyes on Zelda and the Skull kid.

"What do you want stranger?" a Goron who was so tall he had to duck so as not to bang his head asked. Zelda approached the group at the front and bowed, her hood was still over her head and she intended to keep it that way.

"That is for my friend to decide. I assume you have met the Twilight Hero, Link? He has been gone for almost a year now and my friend knows where he is but will only tell me for a price.". The Gorons seemed calmed by this explanation but were still on their guard.

"And what do you intend to do once you have found him? What is your identity?" A small Goron with a walking stick asked.

"I would prefer to keep my identity secret in case those who wish to harm Link stop me from finding him. He is an old friend and I merely wish to make sure he is safe."

"And what does you friend want?"another Goron asked, this time with dark tattoos covering his body. Zelda looked at the Skull kid and smiled from under her hood so that only Skull could see.

"The Skull kid wants something from the Goron tribe but does not know what… perhaps a sharp blade?" Skull looked up and blinked at the Gorons with its large orange eyes.

"And if we give your friend a blade you will be able to help Link?" another Goron asked. He was slightly smaller than the others with red tattoos around his belly. As Zelda nodded she guessed that the Gorons who had spoken to her were the elders of the tribe.

"Wait outside whilst we discuss our views and then we shall tell you our final decision."

Zelda bowed and walked out of the cave and into the cool fresh air outside, the Skull kid skipping towards her.

* * *

"Stranger!" a voice called out to Zelda from inside the cave. She jumped off of the railing and entered the cave once again, the heat was almost too much to bear. The Gorons were in almost the same places as before as she took her place in front of the elders.

"We have made our decision. You may have the blade." Zelda smiled under the hood and reminded herself that the Skull kid only needed one more thing until it told her about Link.

"But we want something from you." the little hope Zelda had been crushed by a very large boulder in her mind.

"We have been very bored for the past few weeks and wish for some entertainment. We have lost the will the wrestle so we merely ask you for something to boost our spirits."  
Zelda thought about their request. Something to boost their spirits? What would Gorons like that didn't involve eating rocks or wrestling? And then it came to her. Kneeling down, she whispered to Skull her idea and watched as its mouth spread into a creepy grin. It brought the trumpet up to its mouth and started to play the tune of the lost woods. Skull played it over and over again as Zelda watched the Gorons start to smile and clap their hands to the rhythm. Soon, they were dancing all over the place and stamping their feet in happiness. The ground shook as the largest Gorons picked up a chest and hurled it over to were Zelda was standing. It would have crushed her if she had not rolled to the side.

"Take it! Take it! You have brought us happiness and we will forever remember that tune and sing it with our best voices!"

Zelda opened the chest and picked up the finely crafted sword that lay in the bottom. The blade gleamed in the torchlight as Zelda realised that it was smaller than a normal sword, more like a large dagger and had been made especially for Skull. How had they made it so quickly?

She placed the sword in her belt and called Skull so that they could leave. Reluctantly, the Skull kid followed her out of the cave and into the cool air outside where Zelda was staring into the distance. It jumped onto the railing in front of Zelda and dangled its legs over the edge.

"Where next?" Zelda asked as they both stared at the now rising sun.

"Skull wants a warm cloak for the winter. One made by a yeti."

"OK then, can you warp us to Zoras domain? The ledge at the bottom if you can."

The Skull kid reached up to her hand and grabbed it. There was a loud crack… and they were gone.

* * *

Thank you for reading so far and sorry for the long waits but I've had a bit of writer's block which has been really annoying. And thank you to Tanglow for giving me an idea for the Skull kid, it really helped! Please review! :) :) ;) ;)


	13. Sewer passage

Link braced himself for the impact of Naboora just before she was thrown into the cell.

"We ride out in one day." the guard said as she was closing the door. Naboora rolled off of Link and sat up, facing him.

"What did the king say when you were with him?"

"I just had to show him all of the secret entrances to the castle that could potentially put lives at risk. But never mind that, I'll worry about it. What did he say to you?"

Naboora sighed and turned away, she couldn't mess this up or he would die… both of them would.

"He told me to betray you. To make you trust me so that you would tell me all of your secrets if you even have any more. I told him I would do it so he wouldn't kill me but if I don't think of some good lies then he'll see through it. He's not as dumb as he looks."

"What was all the noise about? I started banging on the door but the guard knocked me out."  
"Oh… the… the bulblins tied me up and started to… hurt me. King Bulblin really didn't like it." Naboora let out a shaky sigh and suddenly burst into tears a few seconds later, her head in her hands. Link shuffled over to her and put his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder to calm her down.

"Shhh, get some sleep. We're going to the castle in one day and I have a plan to get us out of here."

* * *

The bulblins lined up behind the King on their large, ugly hogs as the Gerudo called out orders among their chestnut horses. There was no moon and the grass on wet, perfect for a surprise attack. Link and Naboora were on another horse (also chestnut) that was tied to the horse in front of them so they couldn't escape. Their hands had been tied together as well, Naboora's hands had been tied around Link's chest so even if they tried to escape by getting off of the horse, they would be caught and killed before they took a single step.

"Five bulblins are to come with me. All Gerudo too. Someone bring Link and Naboora along but make sure that they are not tied together." King Bulblin barked out the orders to his mini army and leapt off of his hog. One of the Gerudo separated Link and Naboora but kept their hands tied together as they made their way to the east gate of the castle. The streets were empty and the torches were not very bright as they made their way past the closed stalls and followed the meowing of cats. Link was in front of the group so that he could lead the way and as they turned into a small patch of grass, he was already thinking of how he could escape with Naboora.

He tried the door of the house ahead of him and read the familiar sign that said 'Jovani' before realising that it was locked. He signalled to a Gerudo who broke down the door with a single kick and entered the house.

"Who are you? What are you do-" Jovani screamed before he was knocked out by yet another kick. Link and Naboora were pushed inside the house where Link immediately started to dig out the contents of a large chest to the left of the room. But instead of finding the secret passage underneath, he found the bottom, completely bare with no sign of a switch of any sort.

"Is this a joke hero? You said there would be a passage here." King Bulblin said.

"There is..." Link flipped over the chest with a loud thunk and cleared away the remaining golden coins that covered a wooden trap door.

"There's your secret passage."

King Bulblin wrenched open the door and peered down into the black hole. And then, all at once, the King raised his hand and Naboora was pushed into the hole. As Link screamed in frustration, he was pushed in after her and everything went black.

* * *

As Link plummeted through the air, he braced himself for the impact of hitting the floor. His feet touched the cold stone as water pushed him onto his back and carried him down the slide and into a large pool of water. Desperate for air, Link kicked through the water and broke the surface, gasping for breathe. Frantically, he looked around him and saw a hand slowly disappear below the surface. He breathed in and dived into the water, grabbing the hand and pulling the limp form to the surface. Link wrapped his arms around Naboora and swam to a shallow part of the sewer where he lay her down and pushed down on her chest to get the water out of her lungs and her heart beating again.

More than a minute had passed and still Naboora wasn't waking up. He combed back his wet hair with his hands and closed her nose with his thumb and index finger as he started to breath into her mouth. But there was no use. She was gone. Slowly, Link lifted his head and sat back, tears forming. Now it was just him… he was alone again.

Suddenly, Naboora coughed. Link watched as the water she had swallowed came back up and Naboora open her eyes. He lifted her up as she gained back control of her shaky breathe and leaned against his chest.

"Thank you..." she whispered.

"Well? Are you dead?" King Bulblins voice echoed around the sewer walls, breaking the silence.

"No, we're not dead you lazy bastard! It's perfectly safe!" Link shouted. He listened as bulblins and Gerudo leapt down into the hole and give small screams of surprise as they were swept away by the water at the slide. One by one, they splashed into the pool and gathered at the edges where they could stand. They were all soaking wet and some of them had lost their weapons to the water which lay at the bottom of the pool, but all of them looked angry. King Bulblin was no exception as he glared at Link and Naboora.

"Where next lover boy?" he taunted.

"Pull that chain next to you. It opens the gate over there so we can use the water to get there quicker."

King Bulblin wrapped his hand around the chain and pulled. The gate creaked as the water rushed out and they were all carried away by its strength. Link grabbed Naboora's hand at the last second as they were pulled under by the strong currents.

* * *

Thanks for reading so far and I know this chapter isn't very eventful but the next Link chapter will be very interesting, I promise. I just needed to write all this (I mean the previous chapters too) so that the more exciting parts actually make sense and I wouldn't have to put loads of dialogue to explain everything which would be very boring. Please review! :) :) ;) ;)


	14. The last item

Zelda wrapped her cloak around her and pushed against the strong icy winds. She felt the Skull kid tighten his grip around her neck as she gave him a piggy back underneath her cloak. Over the ice bridge, past the snow wolves (luckily she didn't have to hurt any as she dodged their attacks, they were only protecting their territory!) up the giant steps, struggle up the snow slope, duck under the large rock wall and into the cave passage.

The stone walls were cold to the touch as Zeldas' footprints echoed around the cave. There was not as much ice as before when she was here with Link so Yeto must have been busy clearing it up. With Skull clinging to her back, Zelda climbed up the ladder in front of her and straightened up at the top.

"How does Zelda know the way here?" Skull asked by her ear.

"I came here with Link once after he saved Hyrule, hang on let me deal with the bats." Zelda pulled out her dagger and slashed at the ice bats as they fell to the ground and disappeared with a poof. She heaved herself up the next two ledges and climbed up the vines, dealing with the bats along the way. At last, they reached a large, round door with two very large hand prints on them which Zelda rolled to the side and dashed past.

The wind had stopped its rampage whilst they had been in the cave and now the sun cast its' rays over the snow in front of them. Zelda looked up to the top of the hill and watched the ice leaves of a thin tree catch the light and sway slightly in the wind above the yeti couple. The skull kid jumped down from her back and knelt down in the snow, feeling it with its hands.

"Skull has never seen snow before..." Skull whispered as he grabbed a handful and shaped it into a perfect ball. Smiling, Zelda started to walk towards the yeti couple but had only taken two steps when something hit her head. She turned around and saw the Skull kid staring at her with curiosity. Slowly, she knelt down and grabbed a handful of snow, moulding it into a perfect ball. The Skull kids' eyes widened, Zelda threw the snowball with all her might and gasped when it hit Skull full in the face and watched as its shocked face turned into a grin. Skull threw back another snowball which Zelda dodged and hid behind a snow barrier. Slowly, Skull approached the snow barrier with a snowball ready in its hand. But Zelda was prepared. She had built a pile of snowballs and as soon as the Skull kids' hat came into few, she fired over the barrier and hit the hat clean of Skulls' head. In surprise, Skull felt around its head and suddenly, a plan formed. No sooner had Skull grinned than a loud crack was heard, followed by another right behind Zelda as a snowball was stuffed into her hood and wrenched over her head, cold snow falling down her back.

"OK, OK! I surrender!" she laughed, putting her hands up in defeat. Skull smiled and retrieved the hat from the snow. Zelda lay back in the snow and moved her arms and legs up and down, making a snow angel. Curious, Skull watched and copied, moving its arms and legs a little more violently than the princess. Skull stood up and admired Zelda's work as well as its own.

"Come on, the yetis have a lot more fun than this."

* * *

"You look for green human, uh? Your friend want something warm, uh? Come to house and do like me princess!"

Yeto smiled at Zelda and after giving his wife, Yeta a quick peck on the cheek, he drove his fist into the base of the ice tree, making a large, frozen leaf fall to the ground which he quickly hopped onto. And with one massive foot on the 'sledge' and the other one kicking off the ground, he slid down the slope and into the distance. Zelda turned to the female yeti and gave her a smile as she rolled into the ice tree and jumped onto the fallen leaf. Skull jumped onto her back and linked its hands around her neck.

"Husband can get carried away, uh. Follow me to house and I will give you small cloak for your friend, uh. But you have to catch me first!" Yeta yelled as she huddled to the edge of the hill and jumped off, giving her a head start in the race as she sped off down the hill.

Zelda kicked off with her boot and felt Skull tighten its grip around her neck as she jumped over the mini canyon and through the snow path. Ahead of them, Yeta was already skidding along the broken bridge and had already leapt off of the snow ramp, flying through the air. Zelda crouched down low, picking up speed and skidded over the bridge and off of the snow ramp. By her ear, she heard the Skull kid scream as they plummeted through the air and landed with a thud on a snow covered tree. As they bounced off of it, Zelda aimed for the next treetop… and missed. They fell through the branches of the trees and grunted when they hit the floor. But Zelda had even beaten Link last time they came here. She swerved in and out of the trees, ignoring the bats and speeding towards a large snow barrier which she jumped onto and slid down. She looked below her and saw Yeta on the slower path and was surprised that she hadn't made it to the short cut, then again, she always struggled at the trees.

Zelda jumped over the crack in the snow and slid off the final snow barrier, speeding towards the old fashioned black gate that was the finish line. They skidded over the small ledge and landed with a thud as the glass lead shattered under Zelda. Skull leapt down off of her back and leant against the open gate as Yeta passed a very green Skull kid.

"There was branch I tripped on, uh. You win!" Yeta smiled at Zelda and huddled up the steps the mansion the Yeti couple were living in. Zelda followed her and noticed that the roof, once broken and neglected, had patches of new wood covering the holes. Yeto had been busy.

* * *

Zelda steadied herself as she slid on the ice covered floor. The one room that had not had any fixing was the same as before. The staircases on each side broken, ice on the floor and splintered wood everywhere. Yeta led both Skull and Zelda to the next room where a roaring fireplace lit up the entire room. Two new, large chairs had been brought in and now stood next to the fire and as Zelda sat in one, she sank down into its depths. The Skull kid sat beside her as there was plenty of room fo them both.

"Husband will be making dinner, uh. Could you open that cupboard for me?" Yeta asked as she looked up towards a cupboard that had recently been built into the wall. Zelda nodded and climbed onto the armchair and reached up for the brass handle. It took all her might to open it and as it creaked open, hundreds of pieces of clothes tumbled out and buried her. She felt her way through the bundle of white and pale blue and eventually managed to dig her way out.

"Sorry, princess, uh. Husband did not put them back properly." Yeta giggled and huddled over to the pile. She reached out her hand (double the size of a usual Yeti arm due to the amount of warm clothing she was wearing) which Zelda gratefully took. Looking at the pile, a thought suddenly came to Zelda.

"But Yeta, these clothes are Skulls' size. They could never fit you or your husband."

"I have been making them, uh. For new arrivals!"

Just at that moment Yeto burst in with a large pan and four bowls perched on top, threatening to fall and smash. He took one look at the pile and suddenly he looked _very_ guiltily towards Yeta who merely giggled.

"I had to catch fish for soup, uh. I couldn't put them away, sorry Yeta." he boomed. Yeta smiled at him and pushed the pile to the side, making room for Yeto to place the pan on the table in the middle.

"Hang on a second. New arrivals?" Zelda asked.

"Yes, new arrivals! I'm having triplets, silly human!" Yeta giggled again.

And now it all made sense. The small clothes (well, smaller than a Yeti at least.), Yeto fixing the mansion, it all made sense.

"Congratulations! I'll bring a present for you when they're born." Zelda exclaimed. Yeto poured out the fish soup and handed Zelda and Skull a bowl.

"Take smaller cloak. Your friend will fit in it, uh" no sooner had Yeta said this than Skull had dived into the pile and rummaged around for a cloak. After a few minutes, Skull revealed the one he had chosen and admired it from all angles as it pulled the cloak over its head. It was a perfect fit.

"Are you sure Yeta? You made them."  
"Yes, you take one, uh. That is for first few weeks and then they start growing lots! I can make more but I don't need that one, uh". Zelda smiled and sipped on her soup.

* * *

An hour later, Skull bounded ahead of her in the new cloak and jumped in the snow.

"Is that warm enough?" Zelda giggled as Skull nodded.

"Well, if that is all you want can we go to the castle for supplies? I have been gone for three nights and if I don't get back soon there'll be trouble." _There probably already is,_ Zelda thought.

"Skull is very happy. I will warp us to field near Kakariko, we walk from there."

Zelda nodded and with a crack, they were gone.

* * *

Wow, longest chapter yet! OK, after this is when the action starts to really happen and I think my writers block is just about gone so hopefully I will update quicker than before. Please review and thanks for reading! ;) :)


	15. The slash of a whip

A Gerudo opened the large oak door at the bottom of the spiral staircase. They hadn't bothered going up as Link knew that Zelda's old room, her prison, had been abandoned and now housed a delightful family of rats which Link had lost contact with since Midna left, taking his ability to turn into a wolf with her. They continued down the stairs to the very bottom where Link signalled with his hand to turn left, leading to Zelda's private chambers.

"Where do we turn after this?" a Gerudo in blood red asked, most likely the captain.

"Left again and then a right. You should come to a long corridor with doors in the middle to your left. The royal families' private garden should be on your right." the Gerudo nodded and signalled for three other Gerudo to follow her. The tiptoed down the halls whilst the rest of them stayed behind, waiting. This wasn't part of the plan.

"Why are they going ahead?" Link asked King Bulblin.

"Just to check that there are no guards. They'll dart them with the Lizalfos poison to put them to sleep and then hide them. Wouldn't want the alarm to be raised would we?" Link doubted that they would simply put the guards to sleep, they would make sure they slept permanently.

It wasn't long before the Gerudo returned, gave a thumbs up to the King and signalled for the group to follow. As they made their way to Zelda's room, Link spotted patches of blood staining the carpet that would not have been noticed unless you looked closely. They stopped outside Zelda's room and Link was pushed to the front to open the door. The handle was cold in his grip and the door creaked as he opened it… strange, if the princess opened the door every day then it wouldn't squeak, would it? He peered inside the room before entering and noticed that the bed was empty, she must be in her private bathroom, the door was closed anyway. He signalled for the rest of them to come in and quickly found what they had broken into the castle for. He hurried over towards the wooden mannequin and carefully lifted the crown of off the top.

"OK, we've got it. Let's go and you can release me _and_ Naboora on the way out." King Bulblin chuckled to himself, quite loudly considering they were trying not to be caught.

"Stupid little hero. You really think that we came here just for a stupid little crown? Now that we are in the castle, in the princesses room in fact, we can take over the kingdom! You must have thought about this? If you didn't then your even dumber than you look." he chuckled again and glared at Link. He was furious. Of course he had thought they would try something bigger than a simple robbery but he was more angry with himself. He should have let Naboora and himself die and then Zelda, and Hyrule, would be safe. He growled in frustration and clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white and his nails started to draw blood.

"Of course I thought that! Of course I knew this wasn't a simple robbery!" Link shouted at the King, even if they were found, he would be dead before the guards arrived. King Bulblin laughed and at the same time, a crash was heard in the bathroom, silencing the Kings' laughter.

"Take him outside." Link was bundled out of the room and listened to the voices behind him.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he recognised Zelda's voice.

"That doesn't matter princess. Kill her." there was a crack of a whip and Zelda gasped. There was another whip crack… and another… and another. Again and again until it finished with the loudest crack of all and everything went silent. Link merely stared at the closed door. Not his Zelda, she wasn't dead. She couldn't be. A tear rolled down his cheek as he launched himself at the door handle. But the Gerudo guards held him back and all he could do was scream her name as he fought against the warrior women. Then, all was black. Link losing consciousness as his head throbbed with the strength of the punch.

* * *

"How did she disappear?"

"Who was the small figure?"

"What do we do now?" the small army surrounded King Bulblin as they fired their questions at him. He silenced them with a flick of his hand and sighed. She had disappeared, just like that. She was wounded but with the help of that little… imp then she could be far away. He staggered over to a nearby chair and sat down, his head in one hand. Slowly, he lifted his head to look at Naboora who was still staring at the spot where the princess had vanished.

"Naboora, I believe you know what to do?" she whipped her head around suddenly and stared at the King, wide eyed.

"Link believes Zelda to be dead. You will continue that lie and, at his weakest point, you are to ask him questions as to where she could be but without giving away that she could be alive. Get him to give you all of his secrets, but make sure that he never finds out about Zelda. The kingdom is mine now and soon I will learn all of its secrets with the help of Link." Naboora nodded and stared at the ground as King Bulblin stood up. He walked towards the door and placed a hand on the handle. A hand which quickly reached for his sword and swung it behind him. The captain dodged the blade and landed firmly on her feet.

"You dare try to slay me whilst my back was turned? I thought you knew better."

"I let you do the dirty work. I kill you and they answer to me."

"That's a shame." King Bulblin signalled with his hand as the bulblins behind the captain grabbed her and tied her hands together. She was brought to her knees, with a blade resting on her neck.

"Do what you will with her and then kill her. She is a traitor and can no longer serve me." King Bulblin opened the door as the other Gerudo and Naboora (still shocked) followed him out. The bulblins cackled as the door closed with a quiet thud.

* * *

Zelda gasped for breath as she clutched her wound and crawled to the edge of the water. She collapsed in a heap and screamed in pain as the whip lashes around her body glistened with fresh blood. Skull hurried towards and clicked its fingers as a tree vine appeared in its hand. Skull quickly got to work by washing the wounds that covered Zelda's body and making the vine thinner. Its fingers clicked again as a thick twig appeared which Skull immediately sharpened at one end and poked a hole through the other. Zelda grunted as Skull threaded the thin vine through the hole and tied a knot so that the vine wouldn't come loose. The needle pierced Zelda's skin as she screamed skyward and Skull covered its ears. She fainted as Skull pierced her skin again, starting to sew up the large gash down her back.

Skull continued to work over the next hour. Cleaning the wounds and then sewing them together in the shallows of the water. Skull started on her back where the whip had made its mark at least five times. Then her arms (her right worse than her left but not as bad as her back), her hip where a single slash had opened the skin almost to the bone but thankfully not damaging any vital organs. Skull finished with her legs that had several small cuts dotted around and one almost the length of her calf. Skull finished the sewing but continued to work on his patient, rubbing a natural remedy into the wounds and cutting the cloth around off so that the skin could breathe. Skull washed her hair and then bandaged the wounds with old pieces of cloth Skull had stolen from the villagers in Ordon decades ago. The Skull kid sat back and drank the water surrounding the pair, the large trees of the lost woods covering them in their time of need.

* * *

Zelda grunted as the pain came back to her. Not as bad as before but still painful. She opened and closed her fist as feeling came back to her body and she was able to move. As she sat up, the blankets covering her fell off. Well, they weren't exactly blankets, more pieces of cloth sown together roughly. She felt the wounds under the bandages and wondered who put them there, after warping to the woods she couldn't remember a thing and it suddenly dawned on her that she was alone. The Skull kid was nowhere to be seen and it was nightfall. She bundled herself into the blankets as much as possible without causing too much pain and sighed. Link had been at the castle. He had shouted her name as she dodged around her own room, avoiding the whip until she had grabbed Skull's arm and they had warped here, away from Link. She had been so close and he had slipped away… like water in her hands. She suddenly felt angry at Skull, angry that it hadn't just taken her to Link in the first place. Her head whipped around as a twig snapped in the bushes. She reached for her sheik dagger on her back but only grabbed air as she realised that it wasn't there. Great, wounded, defenceless and stinking of blood that would attract any predator. She breathed in and stared at the bush, wondering what would kill her in the lost woods.

* * *

Really enjoyed writing this chapter as I've been dying to get to the action parts and this was a lot easier to write down! Hope you liked it and in case you're wondering how Zelda and Skull warped into the castle when Skull has never been there before, there was a small open window which Skull looked in and then warped them both in there. As always, thank you for reading and please review! (criticism welcome) :) :) ;) ;)


	16. Golden wolf

A puppet rattled its way out of the bush, grinning as it floated towards her. Zelda gasped and realised that she had been double crossed by The Skull kid, now left to die. Struggling, she stood up and let the blankets fall to the floor around her, the cold making her shiver. She breathed heavily as she positioned herself into a fighting stance despite her weakness. She scowled at the puppet barely 2 metres away… and heard a trumpet. Immediately, the puppet fell into a heap at her feet and disappeared with a poof, black smoke rising out of the place it had fallen.

She looked up as another rustle came from the bushes and Skull jumped out, carrying nuts and berries in its arms and another blanket tied around its waist. Zelda smiled, relaxing her body and closing her eyes as she fell to the ground.

* * *

A sweet smell filled Zelda's nose as she started to wake up. Her eyes opened ever so slowly as she glimpsed a small figure sitting by a small fire. It took a couple minutes for her eyes to fully open and for her to realise where she was. She bolted upright but immediately regretted it as she brought a hand up to her pounding head and groaned.

"Good, warrior princess awake. Here, eat." Skull forced a wooden bowl into Zelda's hands and sat back down next to the fire.

"What is this?" she didn't know whether to be disgusted or pleased at the sight of the food given that it was a sort of jelly with hard lumpy bits.

"Crushed nuts and berries. Tastes better than it looks." Skull squeaked. It handed her a beautifully carved spoon and looked at her expectantly. She scooped some up some of the mixture and, tasting it, was surprised. The berries were extremely sweet and the nuts gave that added crunch.

"What happened?" she asked between a mouthful. The Skull kid looked up at her, then back at the fire.

"Skull cleaned and bandaged your wounds. Then went to get food, had to use puppet to scare away golden doggy."

"Thank you." Zelda whispered. The fire crackled in the silence when a thought came to Zelda.

"What do you mean golden doggy?"

"Big, golden doggy was in the woods, sniffing out your scent."

"Like a wolf?"

Skull nodded and Zelda's eyes widened. She leapt at the skull kid, grabbing its clothes near the neck.

"Tell me everything about that golden wolf now! If you had just told me where Link was in the first place then I wouldn't be wounded! Link wouldn't be in danger! And Hyrule wouldn't be under threat! That wolf was trying to help me and you scared it off!" Zelda shouted at Skull's face and seemed to growl every word. Skull brought up a hand and snapped its fingers, with a crack it disappeared and reappeared a couple of feet away from Zelda. Anger was bubbling up inside her. She didn't even notice the trickle off blood seeping from her hip. She glanced down and sat back, trying to clean up the blood with the fallen bandage and stop the flow.

"Skull can help with that. Then I tell you about golden doggy." Skull cautiously approached her with a needle and thread in one hand. Grudgingly, Zelda removed her hands and watched as Skull cleaned the open wound with water, sew it up and bandage it again. Using the Goron knife, Skull cut the bandage off and tied a snug knot. It clicked its fingers and the supplies vanished with a smaller poof.

"Golden doggy was about 600 metres away from here, sniffing your scent. It is very strong because of blood. I summoned puppet and scared it away. North."

Zelda nodded and pulled on her Sheikah top. She washed her hair off the remaining blood and tied it into a plat, wrapping the white bandage around her forehead. She demanded from Skull to have her weapons which appeared with a click of Skull's fingers. Then, after checking all of the bandages were secure, she brought her left leg up to her chest and heaved herself into a standing position. The bandage stayed in place as she hobbled over to a sapling, slightly taller than herself and began to cut the longest branch she could reach. Her Sheikah knife dug into the sapling as Skull watched, afraid to stop her for fear of its neck. The branch thudded to the ground and Zelda replaced her knife in its sheath and bent down for the branch. But just as her hand scraped the bark, she cried out in pain and collapsed in a heap. Skull rushed forward and kicked away the branch, then hopped back to a safe distance.

"Give me that branch..." Zelda growled.

"You are wise princess, yes? So let Skull heal you. Let Skull help warrior princess who has given Skull so much. Skull will look for golden doggy as you heal." it hid behind its large, orange hat as the large eyes crept over the rim to look at Zelda. She was sweating and tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"But Link… Hyrule..."

"Princess cannot help either without being healed."

She sighed and nodded. Skull clicked its fingers and Zelda appeared back in the bundle of blankets. Zelda let her hair flow loose and made herself comfortable, keeping her weapons next to her.

"Skull can keep them in safe place if princess wants."

"No, if I am attacked then I need to defend myself."

"Nothing will harm you, Skull controls woods."

"Its not what's in the woods I'm afraid off."

Skull nodded and brought her fresh water.

"Skull will make healing potion. In two days you will heal and Skull will track golden doggy in that time, returning every night."

Zelda nodded and looked up at the stars above her and wondered if Link could see them now. Then, slowly and calmly she closed her eyes and fell asleep listening to the crackle off the fire.

* * *

Hello again! Sorry, this chapter is slightly shorter and later than others but it was the first week back at school (going well so far!) and I closed the page without saving half way through accidentally (oops!). It's also shorter so that we can see what Zel and Skull are doing and then go over to Link for a bit. I think you can expect updates every Wednesday and on the weekend depending on the amount of homework I get. Hope you are all well and I was hoping that some of you could PM me and say how I can make this better because I feel the writers block creeping up again so it would be much appreciated! As always thanks for reading and please review! :) :) ;) ;)


	17. At war again

Link groaned in his sleep. Naboora watched as he mumbled Zelda's name in his sleep, the red lump on his head throbbing. Sweat was starting to roll down his forehead as his dreams became more disturbed and she sighed. She didn't want to wake him up, she would have to tell him a lie. A lie of what really happened less than 24 hours ago. She knew Zelda wasn't dead, which of course was a good thing as Hyrule still had a leader… so why did she feel so bad? Surely she should have been glad that the princess was OK? Could it have been that she now had to double cross Link? No, she knew it wasn't that. So what was it?

"ZELDA!" Link jolted up, breathing rapidly and his wild blue eyes full of fear. He was gripping the floor of their new cell and looked around. He growled to himself and put his head in his hands and screamed at the floor. Naboora covered her ears slightly at the sound and winced, surprised that someone could make so much noise. She watched as Link got up and started to bang on the bars of the cell, moving patches of hay and abandoned boxes to other places, he looked as though he was searching for something.

"Link..." Naboora called, barely audible over Link's shouts. He continued to throw the boxes and handfuls of hay around the cell, only just missing Naboora.

"LINK!" she shouted. He turned to her, chest heaving and growling slightly. The anger in his eyes faded as he saw Naboora. She was… scared of him. His breathing slowed and his arms relaxed to his sides. He ran a hand through his hair and sat down next to Naboora.

"Link, she's gone-"

"No, she isn't! I never saw her body! Why do you think the King rushed me out so quickly? I know she's alive!" he started to cry with his head in his hands again.

"Link, I saw the body… she's gone." his head snapped round to face her.

"But-"

"Do you trust me?"

"She isn't-"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes..." he whispered.

"She's gone."

He looked down and sighed, silent tears dropping to the floor. Naboora wrapped a hand around him and pulled him in for a hug. They stayed there, on the cold floor of their cell, listening to the rats squeak in the other empty cells.

* * *

 _About 24 hours later…_

Link walked up to the throne. King Bulblin took up the entire seat with his flabs of fat, Zelda would hardly take up half of it. The large, stone triforce above the throne seemed greyer and the goddess statues surrounding it were now headless. He noticed trails of stone leading behind the throne as he stopped on the lush red carpet. He was forced into a bow by the two Gerudo either side of him. King Bulblin smiled and signalled for them to return to their posts. Link stood up, glaring him.

"I've done what you've asked, let me and Naboora go."

"But why? So you can try and gather an army to fight against me? Let us walk." King Bulblin struggled out of the throne and joined Link as they walked out of the throne room, all the while the King talking to him.

"I have taken over Hyrule, thanks to you. The precious Zelda is dead and besides, she was never the true ruler, she was never queen." he emphasised the 'never' and let it sink in. He continued to babble on about his greatness, his power and control until they reached the balcony. Link had his head down and was hanging onto every word, one bit could be priceless.

"Look up Link." King Bulblin ordered. Link refused which resulted in a smack across the face and being forced to look up.

What he saw was hell. Below him, castle town was in uproar. People were screaming, children crying. The castle guards had been replaced by bulblins and at least three fires raged on. He noticed that one was extremely close to Telma's bar and prayed to the goddesses beneath his breath. In the distance, the mountains seemed to be blood red and he noticed a large amount of black smoke billow into the sky from death mountain. And at the farthest point, at the very edge of Hyrule, where his home was, the trees were set alight. All of them, at the entrance to Ordon had been set ablaze and as Link watched, he gasped.

"You see that? _You_ caused that. The trees of the forest will be nothing but charcoal when the fire has finished. Castle town will be rebuilt in _my_ image. I have no need of a triforce. And have you seen the mountains? That red, that blood red, is the blood of the castle guards. The oafs who protested against us will stain those mountains with their blood. And it's all your fault." he smiled and released his hand from Link's chin which had made its mark. Link's eyes widened in horror as he realised that because of him, thousands had lost their lives. He started to shake and leant against the balcony. But he quickly brought his hand away as he felt the warm, sticky blood that stained the white marble.

"So what do you think? I will release you in 10 days. By the time you are released, I will have told the people what you have down and you will be practically beaten to death in the streets. Everyone will hate you and if you are not dead by then, they will beg for a public execution. And as their King, I will have to oblige." he chuckled and slapped Link on the back. He hardly felt the sting as he stared at the ruins of Hyrule.

* * *

Link was kicked back into his cell and Naboora stood up.

"What happened?"

"Hyrule is gone." he simply said and then sat against the wall, playing with a piece of hay. She looked towards the still open doors off the cell and noticed that the Gerudo guards were staring at her, a sure sign that the King expected her. She walked towards them and with a final look at Link, was led away.

* * *

"Ah, Naboora! I trust you saw my kingdom on the way here?" King Bulblin smirked at her and signalled for the guards to leave.

"How could you? Half of Hyrule will die at your hands!"

"That's the point."

She clenched her fists and growled slightly.

"I have come to realise that Link would never tell you any secrets, not in his state. Besides, I have what I need and soon I will become even more powerful than Ganondorf himself."  
"More power? Why would you need more when you already have Hyrule?" she shouted at him.

"Hyrule was just the beginning! There is still the Twilight realm which of course you wouldn't know about. But there are countless other lands to take over out there! I will take three in a day!"

Naboora simply stared at him.

"So what do you plan to do with me?"

"I intend to let you go off course. I will give you 1000 rupees and you will be on your way, as long as you say nothing about you helping me with Link."

"I want Link to come with me. Otherwise I don't go."

"Aww now that _is_ a shame! Has the traitor fallen in love?" he laughed at her and she felt her cheeks go red.

"He will not go with you! And if you stay then it's back to where we started from. I have a spare outfit that will be much better than that one." he pointed at her stained bikini. She had been wearing it the entire time, but she didn't care. Link was what she cared about. And as much as she hated to admit that King Bulblin was right, she had fallen in love.

But she couldn't go back to being the King's slave. It was humiliating and not to mention disgusting, how could she go back to it?

"Fine, give me my money and I'll go… just let me see Link one more time." she whispered the last part and winced as she heard the expected laugh.

"You will see Link only once more alive! At his public hanging in two weeks!" the King burst out into mad laughter. He had started to cry when he signalled for the guards.

Naboora was bundled out of the balcony and led down some steps, to the front of the castle. At the gates she was given a large bag which she knew contained her rupees and was then pushed out. That would be the last time she would see Link again… at least alive.

* * *

Hello again! Sorry for the late update, I had actually written this on Friday but I could not find the time to post it. I think I'll do a chapter on Wednesdays and one on the weekend (there won't be one tomorrow as this one is late) and I am trying my hardest to make these longer (PM me if you think they should be longer or stay the same. They're about 2 pages and a bit long on libre office 5.0). Please, please, please PM me on how I can make the story better and more interesting and please, please, please review - they make me happy :) :). Thanks for reading! ;)


	18. Hero's shade

Zelda peered up at Skull who was perched in the branch of the tree above her. It had a hand shading its eyes from the sun and was staring into the distance. Skull looked down at Zelda and shook its head, jumping down next to her they continued to walk through the woods. The leaves covered the ground like a complicated patchwork and the trees seemed to shiver at the cold breeze.

"Are you sure it went this way?" Zelda asked beneath her mask. Her Sheikah outfit was still bloody from her wounds and her hip was still bandaged but other than that she had made a full recovery under Skull's care. Her pointed ears pricked up at the crunch of leaves to her right. She came to a stop and turned her head towards the sound, only to find a squirrel burying a nut. She sighed and continued to walk deeper into the forest.

Skull raised a hand for her to stop as it studied the ground, to the untrained eye, there was nothing. But Skull had learnt how to track its next meal. Skull hurried up into the trees and looked again into the distance. After a few minutes it jumped down and shook its head, then sat down in defeat.

"You're not giving up now? We've only been out here for a couple hours!" Zelda huffed as Skull nodded and started to draw with a stick in the dirt.

"Fine, you sit here and I'll have a look around. Maybe I'll find some nuts or something." Skull gave her a thumbs up without looking as she walked off. The scenery didn't change much, same thick trees, small bushes and leaves covering the floor.

"Show yourself then so called hero of time! Aren't you meant to _help_ your descendants?" she screamed into the woods in frustration and punched the tree nearest her. She immediately regretted it as pain shot through her hand and she jumped back, stubbing her toe in the process.

"OW! YOU CALL THIS HELP?!" she shouted again. She cradled her thumping toe in her hand and massaged it through her shoe, easing the pain. She growled under her breathe and glared up at what she had stubbed her toe on… stone? In the middle of a forest. How on Hyrule had a perfectly carved stone ended up in the middle of the forest?

She quickly forgot her toe and leant forward to examine it. She brushed aside the vines and leaves that had almost covered it and gasped as she saw a perfect Sheikah eye engraved on the surface. A hole went straight through the stone, acting as a pupil. She put her hand through it… nothing. She looked through it with her hand on the other side… still nothing. She started to look closer at the markings, just the eye. She looked towards the bottom.

"Gotcha." she brushed away the last of the leaves and studied the engravings. They were obviously not meant to be there and had been craved very roughly. They were music notes. She hummed the tune in her head as she read the notes and double-checked that she had gotten it right. She sang them into the forest, quietly at first, then louder. But nothing happened. Three times she sang the notes, stopped and sang again. She thought, and thought. She sang them again, twice this time without a pause.

Zelda gasped as a white light filled her eyes. She felt herself collapse and covered her eyes as the light became brighter and then dimmed. She steadied her breathing and opened her eyes again to see that she was on a bed of clouds. She stood up and gasped as she saw the golden wolf sitting calmly in front of her. It was breathing heavily and she noticed that one eye was blood red. It raised its head and howled. A long, sad howl that filled her heart with bravery and made the wind ruffle her clothing. She looked again at the wolf and her eyes widened as she saw a warrior. A dead one. Immediately, she threw a Sheikah needle which bounced off of the corpses helmet and brought out her daggers, prepared to fight. She ran towards the fallen warrior as it raised its sword and shield. She leapt over it, slicing its shoulder and landing behind it, a dagger at its throat and one in its back.

"You have been taught well princess. I assume Link only told you of me but not the full story? I will not hurt you, I will help you." the warrior dropped its sword and shield.

Slowly, Zelda removed the daggers and replaced them in their sheaths. She ordered the warrior away from his weapons and then looked towards him.

"So how will you help me?"

"My name is the hero's shade. Link is my descendant and successor and I wish to help him. Though not in this state. I cannot leave here."

"Where is 'here'?"

"We are above Hyrule, no longer a peaceful place."

Zelda looked below her and gasped at the sight. How had she not seen it before? Right below her was the lost woods, by Ordon village the trees had been set ablaze and roared through the trees. She could just see tiny figures, almost like ants throwing water on the fire, to quench its thirst. Beyond that, Kakariko was also in flames and death mountain seemed redder than usual. The lakes and rivers were darker than before and seemed to contain less water. And Hyrule town was almost unrecognisable. She could see that the streets were dirty, a fire was being battled by the townspeople and Hyrule castle was crawling with Bulblins and Gerudo. A tear started to run down her cheek which she quickly brushed away.

"To help your kingdom you must first find Link. To do that you will need help. Travel to castle town under cover and find a Gerudo by the name of Naboora. She can help you. Farewell princess, may we meet again." the clouds became thicker, covering the hero's shade from view.

"Wait! That can't be it?!" Zelda raced forwards but was going nowhere. She didn't move a single step as the trees came back into view and she realised that she was lying on the floor with a mouthful of leaves. She spat them out and sat up, peering around her and suddenly remembering Skull. She picked herself up and raced back towards where she had left Skull.

* * *

Her feet pounded towards Skull as it dotted eyes on the picture in the dirt. Skull raised its head at the sound and saw Zelda running towards the clearing. Skull quickly rubbed out the picture, she couldn't learn about its past, not now. Skull leapt up and Zelda came to a stop and looked behind her, strange, there weren't any monsters.

"I found him..." she panted. Skull's eyes widened.

"We are going to castle town right now, get my cloak." she started to walk in a random direction into the forest.

"But warrior princess will be seen! Too great a risk!"

"The wolf is the hero's shade, Link's ancestor! He told me to go to castle town and find a Gerudo by the name of Naboora-"

"Gerudo?!"

"Yes a Gerudo but she will help us. Get my cloak and you can hide underneath it, on my back. We'll disguise ourselves as some old woman."

Skull clicked its fingers and the cloak appeared. Zelda reached down and took it, wrapping it around herself as she walked.

"But we will never get to castle town!"

"And why would that be?" Zelda asked calmly, her breath back as she continued to walk through the forest.

"That is the wrong way." Skull stopped and looked at Zelda with an amused expression as she stopped and turned towards the Skull kid. Skull grabbed her hand beneath the cloak and with a loud crack, they were gone.

* * *

Hello again! As usual thanks for reading and seriously... please, please, please review! They make me happy! :)


	19. Close to death

"How much?" a man in rags asked Naboora in a whisper.

"I'm sorry?" she was freezing in her once-red bikini and didn't want to be held up by this loser.

"How much do you want? My place is empty..." he wiggled his eyebrows at her hopefully. She slapped him across the face and stormed off, barely noticing the stones cut into her feet. For three days she had been wondering the streets, her bag of rupees having been stolen the moment she showed herself in castle town. It was strange being out on her own, being able to do whatever she wanted as long as it didn't involve money. As a child, her mother was never there so she always had to stay near the Gerudo tribe, she could never leave and explore the desert by herself.

But now she was hungry, thirsty and cold. She could just start to see her ribs showing from lack of food and water and she constantly felt as if she would feint. The doctor wouldn't help her either. The townspeople were so afraid of bulblins and Gerudo that they turned at the mere sight of her if she approached them. She slowed down to a walk, where was she? In one of the back allies? Slowly, she went over to a nearby wall, lay down on the bare floor and closed her eyes…

* * *

"Be quiet, you'll get us in trouble!" Zelda hissed at Skull on her back. They had disguised themselves as an old woman with a hump using Zelda's cloak and were in the middle of castle town. Skull was completely still but fuming after being told to shut up, after all, humps don't talk.

Zelda held out the metal cup she had found in the river, going up to people and asking for money, a way to convince others of their disguise. They both strained their ears for any scrap of information leading to the Gerudo but there had been nothing yet. Although she had heard some rumours about Link. The word was that he himself had killed Zelda, with no mercy. But no one dared to speak against these rumours under the new ruler. And slowly, slowly, they were starting to see them as fact.

"I mustn't have looked 'good enough' for that cow…" a grumble made Zelda turn her head, a little too quickly as Skull repositioned himself as discreetly as possible.

"Watch it!"

"That man… could he be talking about Naboora?"

"Skull doesn't know, follow him! There's nothing else to do – ah!" Skull's hands gripped Zelda's shoulders even tighter as she sped off after the man. Skull started to wonder why she was so exited. It was hardly a lead anyway.

"Young man! Young man!" Zelda shouted at the man in her old woman's voice, very convincing if she said so herself. He turned to her and his eyes widened for a split second at the speed of such a decrepit woman.

"What do you want, hag?" he grumbled.

"Oh, not very polite are you? Well I _was_ going to give you this rupee you dropped but…"

"Wait!" his eyes glistened at the sight of the red rupee under the cloak. It wasn't much but everything counted nowadays.

"I'm sorry madam. I must have dropped that, thank you." he held out his hand expectantly as his cheesy smile spread across his face.

"Oh no you don't! I want a chat first, a penny for your thoughts you could say. Sit with me over there." she led him over to a bench and sat down, making sure to hunch over for her 'hump'. The man sat with her, eyes like a hawk on the rupee.

"Come on then, I haven't had a good chat in ages!" she cackled at the end. The man stared at her and shrugged, what harm could it do?

"What do you want to know?"

"Oh I don't know, tell me what happened to you today." Zelda croaked. And he told her, right from waking up, having no breakfast and then setting out for no reason. Wondering the street, picking up scraps of food and dropped rupees.

"And that was when I saw a Gerudo, she was walking on the streets like me and you could almost see her ribs, probably from hunger, I dunno. She was wearing this bikini, must have shone once but was almost black from dirt. So I went over to her and asked if she wanted anything, I offered her money but she slapped me and ran off-"

"You liar! I used to have a husband and he would run off with women all the time, pay 'em too. Don't lie to me or you won't be getting this." Zelda showed the rupee and then shoved it back into her cloak. The man looked at her with amazement. An old woman with a hump and no visible face, this was a strange day.

"OK, so I might have asked her for a little more. But I know one of those women when I see one, I can't have been 'good enough' for her but she was as dirty as me!" and he rambled on until the point where Zelda had chased him down.

"Thank you, young man. Now use this money wisely, none of those types 0f women are to touch this!" she handed him the rupee and turned, the man had already run off with the rupee safely stowed in a pocket. Using his information, her feet took her back to the middle of castle town and down another path, her eyes scanning every nook and cranny for the Gerudo.

* * *

Naboora felt warm, it was so lovely lying there, under the tree, on the hill. There was a faint scent of apples, her favourite fruit and a slight breeze ruffled her hair. She wanted to stay there forever, by the river and the singing birds. By the flowers and the sun that warmed her skin. But something made her get up. In front of her, a path appeared, leading through the small meadow and into the brightest light she had ever seen. But it didn't hurt her eyes… and she wanted to move closer, to investigate. She started to walk towards the light but it didn't come any closer, it moved further away. She broke into a run, finally going somewhere and reached out her hand. She could just feel its warmth, its comforting glow calling to her, if only she could touch it…

"Naboora…" what was that? A voice called her name, but from the tree. But that was the other way, away from the light.

"Naboora…" it was clearer now, and louder. But what was so interesting about a voice? She had heard them all her life so why should this one be any different? She turned back to the light and gasped. It had moved further away… and kept going. As if running away from her. She started to run towards it.

"Naboora…"

She couldn't lose the light, the warmth!

"NABOORA!"

The light disappeared, the scent of apples vanished. Her warmth left her, the field and tree vanished too. And they were replaced by a masked face. And a dirty street. And her cuts and cold. She tried to shout at the face for making her leave that wonderful place but all she could manage was a groan.

"Naboora?! Stay awake! Have this water, it'll help you." a bottle was pressed to her lips and her head tilted back. She swallowed with difficulty and leant against the stranger. She was aware of a very small figure next to her, covering her in a cloth. The bigger stranger tipped the water into her mouth with difficulty and then stowed it away. Half the water had escaped her lips and her chest was drenched in it, but it felt nice somehow. She felt herself be lifted up, and arm around the strangers neck, the small one supporting her side as her feet struggled to keep her upright.

Naboora opened her eyes and even though her vision was slightly blurry, she could still see the chaos around her, the dark, the dirt. And suddenly she felt like she wanted to give up, go back to that peaceful place under the tree and lie there forever. She closed her eyes, the noise around her faded, and she felt her knees buckle as she collapsed to the ground, her face hitting that lovely bed of flowers in the field.

* * *

Hello again! I really liked writing this chapter and once again thanks for reading and please review! ;) :)

P.S: I wrote a one-shot on how the hero's shade (Link from Oot) died so please read and review that as well! ;)


	20. The Resistance

The sheets were warm but there was a cold draft by Naboora's feet. She could tell that she was lying on the floor with some sort of rag/blanket covering her. She could tell that there was a faint light to her right even though her eyes were closed, and her nose tickled… please say there weren't any cats around.

Naboora opened her eyes sleepily and sat up. The room she was in resembled a sort of cosy dungeon. The walls and floor were stone but not dirty, there was a table in front of her and what resembled a bar at the end of the room. Blue and green bottled were piled on their side on the shelves and a heated discussion was taking place around the corner from where she was. And a white, fluffy cat was staring at her. She blinked at the cat and, as if mimicking her, it blinked back. The purple ribbon around the cats neck glinted in the light as the cat got up, stretched, yawned and started to make her way towards Naboora. It reached her slowly and looked at her, its nose twitching. The cat meowed and brought its head to her hand, rubbing its fur on her skin. She tried to push it away but it seemed to like that and just rubbed itself more. And she felt it, the dreaded tickled in her nose as the cat started to purr.

"ACHOO!" her sneeze echoed off the stone and the voices became silent.

Naboora rubbed her nose as the cat walked off angrily and footsteps thudded on the stone.

"You awake hun?" a woman with dreadlocks and a little too much breast showing poked her head around the wall and looked at Naboora. She nodded.

"I'm allergic to cats."

The woman approached the bar. She picked up a plate and walked over to Naboora, the voices starting to talk again. The woman gave the plate to Naboora who started to wolf down the meat and vegetables (there wasn't much but she ate anyway) and by the time she was finished, the was licking the juices off of the plate.

"You are hungry then! We haven't got much given the circumstances, I'm Telma. Nice to meet you honey." she winked at Naboora and started to walk away.

"Wait! What am I doing here?" she croaked, she started to wish that Telma had given her something to drink as well.

"I think that is for my friend to tell." she rounded the corner and another figure appeared. They had on a tight suit and the symbol of the Sheikah tribe was on their chest, at once Naboora knew who it was.

"Princess Zelda?!" the figure pulled down the cloth that covered her mouth and nodded. Zelda sat down next to Naboora and passed her a cup of water which she drank in one gulp.

"You were close to death when I found you. Passed out on a road not far from here. But before I tell you anything, I want to know where Link is and what they've done with him." she was serious, not a trace of emotion in her voice. And Naboora told her, from the cage fights and the kiss to the castle dungeon. Zelda had her head in her hands and looked to be on the verge of tears by the end of Naboora's story.

"I've told you my story. Now tell me yours."

And Zelda told her. Right from the beginning and all the way to saving Naboora. The two were silent for a few moments, taking it all in. When a squeaky voice broke the silence.

"Princess? The warriors need you!" Naboora glanced up and saw the small figure who had saved her, but it wasn't human. It had a wide grin and was dressed in orange and green, a bit like a live jack o lantern. Zelda got up and started to leave but was pulled back by Naboora.

"Can I see? You can trust me, I want to help." Zelda considered her for a few moments and nodded. She helped Naboora up and told her to wait where she was. She returned a few moments later with a black cloak which she handed to Naboora who hurriedly put it on.

* * *

"We have 5 days until Link is publicly hanged so we need a plan. Naboora knows how the Gerudo work so that'll help." Zelda placed her hands on a the table where 4 other people were sat besides Naboora, Zelda and the recently introduced Skull. A woman with black hair, Ashei; a man in his late 40's, Auru; a man with glasses, Shad and Telma. They were part of a resistance that had formed during the first war in Hyrule and had reformed because of this one.

"We could create a diversion and get him at the hanging." Auru suggested.

"Too risky, something could go wrong and he could die before we get to him. Besides, that is a last resort." Ashei sounded angry. They were all impatient with each other and a plan hadn't been formed in the last hour they had been sat around the table. Naboora had been quiet throughout and tried to hide herself deeper into Zelda's cloak. Besides, it was partly her fault that Link was still a prisoner and that Hyrule was at war.

"Why not attack the castle? Round up some warriors and take back control. Link will be safe once we win." Shad didn't seem very experienced in battle and seemed to sink into the shadows when everyone looked at him.

"Not that that isn't a brilliant idea," Ashei said sarcastically. "But rounding up warriors and preparing would take at least 2 months by which time Link is dead. If we get him first then it creates some hope. And people who are injured but have hope are a lot better than people who believe the rumours and want to kill their leader. Any more bright ideas?"

Shad shook his head and sat back in his chair. There was silence as everyone looked at each other across the table.

"I have an idea." Naboora whispered. Everyone's heads shot up to look at her.

"There's a secret passage into the castle, Zelda you've used it but it might be guarded. However, if we were to send in a spy, someone small perhaps, then they could take out the guards and we go into the dungeons and get Link." Naboora looked towards Skull.

"If Skull were to do that then we could warp out." everyone turned to Skull, a gleam of hope in everyone's eyes. At once, Skull started to shake its head.

"Hero would be too weak! Princess was exception, Hero could be gravely injured."

"Skull please. You owe it to Link that he would play your games and instead of taking me to him, your _friend,_ you decided to get things for yourself when he could be close to death. And if he's weak then getting him though the passage will be just as dangerous." Zelda almost shouted at the Skull kid who glared at her with its large orange eyes.

Skull nodded. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Skull also seemed to smile at the sight of their faces and soon, they were planning. Planning to break into the castle and get Link, to take back control over Hyrule.

By the time they had set a rough plan, it was close to midnight and everyone except Zelda and Naboora were awake.

"Why are you helping us?" Zelda asked quietly in between Auru's snores.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a Gerudo."

"I guess I'm fed up with being the tribe that is always so… evil I guess. Half of our tribe became the Twili race generations ago according to legend and since then we have roamed the desert. My mother had always said I was never like the others, like her. And Link deserves more than this. He saved our world… he saved me." she looked towards Zelda and saw her nod in the light of the lamp.

"He saved me too. He would take me out on rides with Epona and take me to different parts of the land where we would explore. He helped me escape the pressures of being royalty and I started to be myself. Anyway, get some sleep, not long before we see him again."

Zelda laid her head down and bunched up her blanket and used it as a pillow. Before long Naboora heard her steady breathing as she slept. She laid her head down and closed her eyes, amongst friends and soon to see Link again.

* * *

Yay! 20 chapters! By the way, does anyone ship Ashei and Chad? Thanks for reading and please review!

Ps: Is said this in the last chapter but I wrote a one-shot of how the hero's shade (Link from Oot) died and not many people have read that so please do! Review as well please ;)


	21. Preparations

Zelda was already bustling around castle town in her old woman disguise as the sun rose over the castle. She slipped the dagger she had recently stolen under her cloak and passed it to Skull, placing it in a pouch for later. Looking towards the daggers' previous owner she smiled as the bulblin searched for it between short bursts of rage. She turned her feet and started to walk down the street towards Telma's bar, 'borrowing' food from stalls that hadn't been destroyed yet.

* * *

"I'm back!" Naboora watched as Zelda pulled off her cloak and Skull jumped down, spilling the contents of his bag over the floor.

"If you weren't a princess you would definitely be a thief." Ashei walked over to the pile of silver weapons scattering the floor and picked up a throwing knife. She examined it in her hand, the size, the weight, everything. In one movement, she turned and threw the knife straight behind her, right next to Chad's head. Stunned, he turned to her as she smiled at him and winked.

"Stop flirting Ashei, we have a hero to save." Rauru was also examining the weapons and look towards Zelda.

"They'll need to be sharpened, couldn't you get any swords? Not even one?"

"No, there were only those ridiculous clubs the bulblins carry around and I would only be able to get one to have in my belt." Rauru nodded and bundled up the weapons into his arms, taking them to the table. He dumped them on top of the map of Hyrule and motioned to a blushing Shad to started sharpening them.

Naboora finished her soup with a slurp and walked towards the bar. She set her bowl on the counter and turned to be faced by Zelda. Naboora didn't know what to make of the princess. She was kind and great in battle… but she had a connection with Link. And Naboora didn't like that.

"I want to show you something." Zelda simply said as her hands unhooked a bag at her belt.

"You needed something to wear so I got you this, just don't ask where it came from." she handed the piece of cloth to Naboora and watched as the Gerudo examined it. It was similar to a sheikah outfit only not as battle-worthy. But Naboora appreciated it. It was something other than her bikini and she was tired of having to wear Zelda's cloak and when Zelda needed it she didn't have anything else.

"Thanks. Is there anywhere to get changed?"

"Ask Telma, I'm going to help the guys." Zelda went over to the table and towards the weapons. Naboora looked down at the clothing in her hands. Was this her life now? What happened after Link? She hardly ever smiled any more, just drifted from day to day.

* * *

10 minutes later Naboora had changed into her 'sheikah outfit' and was sharpening a dagger with a flint stone. The others were singing some song about the hero's of legend but she didn't feel like joining in. There was something about the group… like she didn't belong there. Turning, she tossed the dagger onto a pile of sharpened weapons when something caught her eye. Zelda had a smile on her face, a drink in her hand and yelling to the room at how they would rescue Link. Naboora started to doubt that the princess Zelda would ever act like this, slightly drunk. The warrior Zelda that stood before her would though.

And that would be the Zelda that Link had fallen for.

Naboora quickly grabbed another dagger and started sharpening, viciously. With every stroke of the metal she wished it was Zelda's perfect face. The face that had stolen her Link, stolen her future with him. With a start, she realised that sparks were starting to fly from the stone, the orange spark reflecting her anger. She turned and placed the dagger in the finished pile and reached for another but her hand gripped air. Looking up, she watched as a sharpened axe flew threw the air and landed with a clatter on the pile.

"That's the last one! Get some sleep everyone, we have a hero to save tomorrow!" Zelda gulped down the last of her drink and jumped off the table. Everyone settled down, pulling blankets over themselves or bundling them up as pillows. Naboora did the same, getting as comfortable as possible on the floor.

And slowly a plan started to form in her head.

* * *

"Skull? Hey, wake up." Naboora whispered into the dark.

"Skull kids never sleep Gerudo." Skull's squeaky voice rang in the darkness. Naboora felt as Skull floated over to her.

"Take me with you."  
"Take Gerudo with Skull where?" she sighed.

"When you go to get Link, take me with you. I can help take out the guards. Having a Gerudo there will help."

"Why?"

"Because I left Link there when he needed me." she was starting to become impatient. Couldn't this imp just say yes? She felt Skull looking at her, wondering whether to trust her.

"OK." Skull turned and started to go back to his place.

"Just don't tell anyone, they might be angry that I left them but I will help more if I'm with you."

"OK." Naboora lay back down, a smile spreading across her face. Skull didn't seem to talk much and it annoyed her slightly when its answers were short.

"Skull?"  
"Gerudo?"

"If you don't sleep then why do you stay here? Why not go out and do something?" silence.

"Skull likes being with friends and even Skull has to rest." Naboora hummed in agreement and stared up at the ceiling. This time tomorrow Link would be safe. This time tomorrow they stood a chance at taking back control of Hyrule.

But this time next week Link will be with Naboora… and the pretty Princess Zelda will be dead.

* * *

OK, sorry I haven't updated in a little while and sorry that this chapter is shorter than others (please forgive me!) but I have been really busy. Luckily I now have more time on my hands so there will be updates more often this week. Thanks for reading and please review! ;) :)


	22. The Rescue

Zelda dragged herself out of the water, soaking to the bone. Behind her she heard the others reach the path and turned to help them, hauling them out of the water.

"Skull… the bag." Zelda shivered as she watched Skull click its fingers and a bag appear out of thin air. She raced forward and opened the bag, throwing the clothing to their owner.

"Girls stay here, boys around the corner."

Auru and Shad rounded the corner of the sewer passage, taking their tops off in the process.

"Skull, you too."

"Why Skull? Actually now that I think about it, are you a boy or a girl?"Ashei asked.

"Skull kids do not have a gender. But warriors can call Skull 'he'." and Skull floated off around the corner.

The girls changed out of their wet clothing and into dry ones, securing any armour and weapons.

"Boys, you done? Or do I have to come over there?" Ashei smirked at hearing Shad's gasp.

"Hang on, we're coming." Auru rounded the corner followed by Shad and Skull.

"It's this way to the entrance of the castle, if anyone sees anything suspicious Skull will warp us out of here straight away but not all at once so get your weapons ready whilst you wait for your turn. Got it?" Zelda smiled as they all nodded and they continued down the sewers. Zelda was glad they had thought of dry clothes but wished they could do something about their hair. Ice cold drops of water dripped from the ends and onto their backs, each drop making them shiver.

* * *

"Off you go then Skull." Zelda whispered, reaching up for the manhole, lifting it up and gently sliding it to the side. Luckily almost everyone had forgotten about the garden at the back of the castle, including the stone shelter where the manhole was. Skull leaped out and gave a sharp whistle, all clear. Zelda climbed out, followed by the others.

"Just make sure you get most of the guards with these darts." Zelda held out about 15 small darts and a hollowed out reed, like a peashooter. Skull gathered them into his pockets and bounded off over the wall.

* * *

Skull smiled as the bulblins' body fell through the air and crashed into the ground. He loaded another dart and shot the remaining three bulblins on the wooden towers, the ones on the ground the others could kill later. He warped to the other side and scurried towards the large oak door, sliding inside. Turning around, Skull saw that the room he was in was very quiet, almost deathly quiet. There were balconies higher up and what looked like the remnants of a staircase. Skull warped to the nearest balcony, opening the door ever so slightly and peering inside.

Two big, black armoured guards (probably Darknuts) were standing either side of the next door at the end of a very long corridor. And there was not a single space for a dart to hit either. Closing the door again Skull thought, how was he supposed to get past those?

* * *

Back at the garden Naboora was fuming. How dare Skull go without her! They had a deal! But she couldn't let the others know. So instead she sat against the wall staring into the overgrown garden out of the rain. She looked up at the wall that Skull had disappeared over, willing him to come back and get her.

"Will you stop pacing?!" Ashei blurted out at Shad who was scribbling in a book in his hands. He looked at Ashei as if to say sorry and went to sit down next to her. But he sat up again almost immediately. Skull had warped right next to Ashei where Shad was going to sit and they could practically feel his anger radiating off of him. Adjusting his hat, Skull turned to Naboora.

"Gerudo, come with me." he made to grab her hand but was blocked by Zelda.

"This isn't part of the plan, why do you need her?"

"Big black warriors blocking path, Gerudo will know how to get past."

Zelda looked at Naboora, then back to Skull and then to Naboora again. Finally she sighed.

"Fine."

* * *

"Those are Darknuts, they're really slow I that armour so as long as we get to the door on time they can't get us. If we get behind them we can get them in the neck, their helmets never cover that bit." Naboora whispered and Skull nodded, moving ahead to stand right in front of the two enemies. At once they started to move forward, amazed that such a small creature was trying to get past them. Skull looked up at them, simply staring and watched as their weapons raised in unison into the air…

"Wait!" Naboora came running in, hands out to stop them.

"How dare you try and attack the king's pet! Move aside **now** and let us pass!" she shouted at them, her finger pointing accusingly at the pair. The seemed to look at each other and silently agreed, moving back to their posts and clearing the way. Naboora strode past, Skull doing a sort of skip behind her. Just as she reached the door, a single dart slid out of her sleeve, into her hand and she jabbed it into the nearest Darknut, right in the neck. Next to her, Skull did the same and with a crack, Skull made them disappear.

"What is a pet?" Skull asked.

"Never mind about that now, come on." she pushed open the door and raced forward, Skull hot on her heels.

And Naboora was running. Running and running through the halls, not worrying about any guards because she knew that they were never past the Darknuts. Skull was struggling to keep up and was afraid of being seen. But nevertheless he followed her, she would know where the guards were, wouldn't she?

And then they were in the dungeons, checking cell after cell for Link. Hylian hands threw rotting food at Naboora, angry at her and her race for imprisoning them, taking their homes and ripping apart families. Skull pulled down his hat as he ran after Naboora, bumping into her as she suddenly stopped. Skull looked up at her and followed her gaze.

Link was in a small cell with stone walls on two sides and bars on the others. The Hylians in the cell next to him had long forgotten about Naboora and Skull and were now hurling insults at Link. He had his back against the wall and was simply staring at them, not noticing Naboora or Skull and not a trace of life in his eyes. Cut and bruises covered his body and his hair was covered in dirt and blood, no longer the blond it once was. Naboora felt tears in her eyes as her hands wrapped around the bars. For a few moments she stared at him, Skull now looking at Link as well.

"Link?" he turned his head towards her, pain etched in his face as a gash in his cheek started to bleed slightly. He didn't seem to realise it was her and continued to simply stare at her.

"Skull, get me in there."

Skull grabbed hold of her ankle and with a crack they were inside Link's cell. Naboora rushed over to him, ripping the sleeve of her clothing and dabbing at the gash on his cheek. As she worked he continued to stare at her, it was unsettling how little life was left in him. She pulled out a bottle of red liquid and undid the lid with a pop. She raised it to Link's mouth, begging him to drink the potion.

But when his lips didn't part she did it for him, easing his mouth open and gently tilting his head back. Gradually she started pour the potion into his mouth, grateful that he could at least swallow. Finally the potion was finished, the bottle safely stowed away and Link looking a little more lively.

"You… left."

"I know, I know. And I'm so sorry." tears were streaming down Naboora's cheeks as she cupped his face in her hands. She leant forwards and kissed him, a spark of hope igniting inside her as he seemed to return it. Skull didn't know what to do, feeling slightly awkward as the two kissed.

"Skull, get us out of here."

"But hero is not strong enough!" he squeaked.

"It would just be to the others. But take only him so you can focus on his health." she lunged rather than grabbed at Skull's hand and placed it in Link's. Looking towards Link, he sighed and nodded.

"Hang on, Link, drink this. It'll get rid of the pain for a bit." Naboora got out another bottle, helping Link to drink it. With a nod from Naboora, Skull nodded and with a crack they had disappeared, leaving Naboora behind. In the silence, a wicked smile crept onto her face. But as she turned around it vanished, how was she supposed to get out now?

* * *

So I know I haven't updated in a while and I am very sorry! I know I said in the last chapter that there would be more chapters because I had time on my hands but I was sick :(. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this and please review! ;)


	23. An eye for an eye

"Zelda if you don't stop pacing I swear to Hylia I'll stick a knife in your foot." Ashei growled, a knife in her hand. Zelda shot her a look but sat down, Ashei didn't like to joke around. A few minutes passed in silence, Ashei's knife being flipped in her hand was the only sound the group heard.

Crack!

"Skull!" Zelda was immediately on her feet, fast-walking to where Skull stood a few feet in front of her.

"Princess, potion. POTION!" Skull was shouting at her, waving his arms and pointing at the ground next to him. Zelda whipped out one of her two bottles of potion, the lid already off and discarded on the floor. Skull looked as if he was about to burst by the time Zelda reached him.

"Link?!" Link was on the floor, the slight mist making wisps around his body. The gash on his cheek was flowing with blood and the wounds on his torso and legs had reopened.

Skull watched as Zelda, just like Naboora lifted Link's head up, tilting it back and allowed the red liquid into his mouth. Skull cocked his head to one side, watching Zelda's movements, could she be somehow mirroring Naboora? They both seemed to care about Link but there was something different yet the same about the way they did. Skull shrugged it off, Hylians were strange anyway.

Link's eyes were still closed by the time he had drank the whole of the potion, the others crowded around him.

"He can't survive another trip by warping."  
"But it's the only way!"

"We could always give him more potion..."

Ashei, Shad and Auru were arguing. Skull had gone to get Naboora and Zelda had Link's head in her lap, trying to block out the racket. She looked down at Link, sure that something was wrong. He was still alive but was breathing so lightly he could have been dead. And Skull had been gone for too long. He should have been back after 2 minutes tops but it had already been 5.

"SHUT UP!"  
The others looked down at Zelda, surprised.

"No, he will not survive another trip. Yes we could give him more potion but he could be dead by then. And have any of you noticed how Skull has been gone for long enough? Link could have been dead for all you three knew whilst you were arguing!"

Shad looked down at his feet, Ashei winced and Auru was looking at Link as if wondering why he wasn't already dead as Zelda finished her rant. The group stayed in silence, each waiting for someone else to talk first.

"GET THEM!" Zelda's head whipped round. A Gerudo woman in red was pointing at the group, about 20 bulblins and 2 other Gerudo were running towards them, weapons raised. Zelda had her weapons ready in an instant, Ashei and Auru following her lead and Shad trying to drag Link to the side.  
And all hell broke loose.

10 bulblins were dead in the first 20 seconds. Zelda, Ashei and Auru fighting a Gerudo each and swinging at any close bulblins when they had the chance. Sheikah needles flew in all directions, Ashei was taking no prisoners and somehow Auru managed to make bulblins fight each other. But more kept on coming and slowly, the group was getting tired.

"Give up little princess! Bulblins get Link!" the Gerudo Zelda was fighting taunted her as she called out the order over her shoulder, her neck exposed for the briefest of moments. Zelda took her chance, dagger swiping forward and slicing the woman's neck. The Gerudo's eyes widened, blood gushing down her chest as she fell to the ground. Zelda turned, sending a sheikah needle towards the bulblins threatening to harm Link. Shad was lunging at a bulblin (with more skill than Zelda thought he would have) with his spear. The point suddenly pierced the monster's body, Shad smiling at his victory.

The next 20 seconds had Zelda running to Auru's aid and distracting the Gerudo, allowing him to quickly end their battle and to kill the last few bulblins. The two turned to Ashei, weapons covered in blood but ready. And they watched as the Gerudo kicked forwards, tripping up Ashei and bring down her scabbard…

Ashei screamed as blade met flesh, her hand covering her eye and blood rushing into her mouth. The Gerudo smiled, her blade coming down threw the air to finish the job. Auru and Zelda barely had time to react but Shad was on his feet. Spear pointed straight at the Gerudo's back, he ran towards her. And running faster than he ever had (which wasn't really a hard thing to do) the spear plunged into the Gerudo, making her stop in her tracks and drop the scabbard.

Shad quickly discarded her body, leaving the Gerudo to the side and crouching down next to Ashei. No more bulblins were coming towards them and Link was still unconscious. Shad eased Ashei's hand away from her eye, blood covering her face. Shad pressed a cloth against the wound, cleaning up the worst of it and wrapping a bandage around her head, like an eye patch.

"Ashei, don't touch it, OK? I'll help you to where Link is and when Skull comes back he'll warp us all out of here." Shad soothed Ashei as he helped her over to Link. Her other eye was wide and she was breathing heavily from shock.

"Her left eye's dead, she won't see out of it again." Shad whispered when he reached Zelda and Auru.

"We need Skull now. Ashei is in shock and Link isn't dead, he's been given a sleeping potion so he won't wake up for another day."

"How do you know?" Zelda asked.

"When you guys were fighting and before the bulblins attacked me I was trying to wake him up. I tried to open his eyes but someone who has been given a sleeping potion can't open their eyes. Zelda was there anything in that bottle you gave him?"

"Just the life potion, I always clean my bottles thoroughly."

"Then we need Skull, otherwise we won't get out of here and if these guys managed to get in I'm sure others can." Auru pointed to the Gerudo bodies. And as Zelda looked at them something clicked.

"That's the thing, this is the Royal cemetery. Royalty are always buried here but people think otherwise because we hold a fake funeral somewhere else. 'Those with evil hearts cannot enter unless invited by those with pure hearts'. My father told me that before he died but I never got to bury him..." images flashed before Zelda's eyes as she remembered the last war they had had. She shook her head, willing them to go away.

"Which means that Skull was probably forced to bring them here." Auru finished her train of thought, the three immediately searching the area.

"Over here!" Shad called out. Zelda ran towards him by the wall, seeing Skull limp in his arms.

"He's still alive, a potion will help."

Zelda gave him her last bottle, Skull's eyes flickering open.

"Warriors! We warp out now! Gerudo has betrayed us, she made me bring evil ones to you! I was hit so I couldn't warn you!" Skull blurted out. He grabbed hold of Zelda's hand, rushing over to Link and Ashei.

"Everyone make sure you can touch Skull's arms or touch someone else who is holding onto him. Are you sure you can do this?" Zelda Asked, worry on her face. Skull nodded, ready to warp them out of there.

"Wait! Take us to the lost woods, the bar is too close and they'll find us. We can go back for Telma and supplies later." Skull nodded again, screwing up his face in concentration.

And with a crack, they were gone.

* * *

I know I said there would be updates quicker than usual but of course I have to get a cold (again!). So here is the next chapter, I hoped you enjoyed it and please review! ;) :)


	24. Betrayal

By time time the group had made it back to the lost woods everyone was exhausted. They had taken an hours rest, cleaning any wounds they had acquired using the water from the small lake that Skull had healed Zelda with before. After much debating on who should go, Auru had gone with Skull to Telma's bar to collect supplies and bring both Telma and Louise to safety. Shad had quickly gotten to work taking care of Ashei. She had insisted that he at least clean himself up a bit first before he tended to her which resulted in him jumping in and out of the water quicker than you could say 'books'.

Ashei's eye had lost all trace of colour. It now resembled a white ball, now more of a ghost's eye and a scar had appeared over the side her face had been cut by the blade. Shad was using the cleanest piece of cloth he could find to clean up the blood.

"Is it bad?" she whispered, her good eye brimming with tears. Shad hesitated before answering.

"You won't see out of it again."

"Do I look OK?" Shad was taken aback at this. He had never thought of Ashei being one to care about her looks too much, if anything he thought she would have been proud of a battle souvenir.

"You are still beautiful to me." he leant forward and kissed her forehead where the scar began. A few moments passed in silence as Shad started to wrap a bandage around her head.

"Can you give me a fringe… if you can."

"I think it's a sign of your bravery but if you really want-" she nodded. Shad started to style her hair as best as he could, resulting in a sort of short side fringe.

A couple meters away, Zelda was tending to Link, cleaning the wounds on his legs and torso. As the water lapped against his body Zelda watched the blood dance in the water until they disappeared. The more the blood danced away the less Zelda worried as she saw that the wounds weren't as bad once clean. She brought a hand up to his face, tucking a lock of hair behind his pointed ears.

Suddenly, Link's head moved. His hands jerked slightly by his side, as if he was trying to wake up. She watched as Link's wild eyes opened, staring blindly at the sky, not a single emotion crossing his features.

"Link?"

Almost as if that were the magic word, his eyes snapped open to their fullest, suddenly alert. He shot up, sending Zelda back a few steps in surprise. He turned his head towards her, her mouth open slightly in shock.

And then he lunged at her, his hands wrapping themselves around her throat and starting to squeeze. He pushed her onto the ground, pinning her down with his body so that he was crushing her under his full weight. Zelda couldn't move, couldn't breath. She could only watch as Link's wild eyes prepared for the kill, hatred practically radiating off of him. She felt her eyes start to roll into the back of her head, her lungs screaming for air. She felt her breath start to leave her, her very life start to leave her body…

Shad pushed Link off, wrestling him to the ground. Zelda gulped in the air, more grateful than ever for the cool atmosphere around her. She sat up, coughing and massaging her throat. She watched as Link fought back, he was stronger than Shad and easily overpowered him, starting to push his head towards the water in an attempt to drown him. But not before Ashei charged at him, a bulblin club raised and crashing down to Link's head.

Link collapsed over Shad, unconscious as Ashei pushed him away and helped Shad out of the water. It was a miracle his glasses were still intact after the fight and he hadn't been under the water for more than 5 seconds so was more or less OK.

* * *

In the next 20 minutes Zelda, Ashei and Shad had tied Link up with the rope they had. Auru, Skull, Telma and Louise had returned with supplies, Telma lugging around a suitcase as big as Skull behind her. They had built a fire in the forest clearing where they roasted the rabbit Auru had trapped and shared it between themselves, using bark as plates. Shad had soon patched everyone up, wounds would be healed in the next week or so and small cuts had disappeared as if they were never there. He had then left everyone in peace, consulting his books for hours on end by firelight and snapping his head up suddenly if anyone disturbed him.

Zelda sat by the fire, watching as the flames resembled the dance of Link's blood. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the shadow of Link. They had given him a sleeping potion but had to keep giving it to him every few hours because it wasn't very strong. She dreaded when it was her turn to force the liquid down his throat. Ashei was next to her, both women thinking about their losses… at least Zelda would be able to speak again.

The crack of a twig had Zelda spinning round only to find Shad had gotten up and was making his way over to Link. She watched with bated breath as he tipped the potion into his mouth as he slept, grunting in protest. But instead of returning to his place, Shad sat next to Link, checking his eyes and mouth with a small mechanism that concentrated light into one area. He had angled the trinket with the light of the moon, its silvery glow lighting up the forest floor.

After a few moments of Shad prodding and poking, tapping and listening to various parts of Link's face and chest he stood up, making his way over to the fire. He sat down next to Zelda, making notes in his notebook, oblivious to Zelda's questioning looks. In frustration she tapped him, a little harsher than intended. Shad turned abruptly to face her, slightly annoyed at her insistent taps.

"I'm not entirely sure but I think Link has been brainwashed somehow. I've gone through my books and the only mention I can find of something like that is a potion most Gerudo use. It looks like a healing potion so that it can be given to the victim without anyone noticing and as long as it has a piece of DNA of someone (maybe something like a strand of hair) then the person will feel nothing but hatred towards them until the effects wear off." Shad explained. Zelda looked back into the fire, wondering how to reply without talking when something struck her. Her finger started to rearrange the dirt at her feet and when she was done she showed Shad.

Getting the message, Shad called Skull down from a tree he had been playing his flute in. The melody stopped as the little imp jumped down next to the two. Zelda hurriedly started to draw something into the dirt again, looking up at Skull when she was done.

 _How many potions did Naboora give Link? What colour were they?_

"Two potions, both red." he squeaked. Shad looked up at Zelda, realisation dawning on his face.

"She must've taken some of your hair and put it in the hatred potion, she should only have needed to give him one dose." Shad whispered.

" _She's been tricking us..."_ Zelda thought to herself. Anger started to bubble inside her, then seemed to explode. Zelda grabbed the nearest weapon and started to hack at the nearest tree, splinters of wood bouncing in all directions. Puppets suddenly appeared around her, Skull making more appear as Zelda unleashed her fury. Only when Zelda at last seemed out of breath did Skull stop the puppets, her eyes glaring angrily at him.

She stormed back to the dirt, brushing away her last message and writing a new one.

 _How long do the effects last on Link? And for Hyrule's sake do you have anything for my throat!?_

Zelda looked back up at Shad. He stumbled back slightly, fearing the princess's wrath.

"If it was a full bottle only about a day, by the time you wake up Link will be back to normal. And there should be some natural remedies in the forest for your throat." he spluttered out. Zelda seemed to calm down but not by much. He gave up on the thought of trying to calm her down further and made his way to the fire next to Ashei. Somehow, she had fallen asleep and Shad started to make himself comfortable next to her, pulling a blanket over them both (Ashei getting the majority of the blanket). Zelda sighed and lay down next to the fire. Just before she closed her eyes she looked towards Skull. But without needing to utter a word he seemed to understand.

 _Keep watch_.

With one last look at Link, Zelda closed her eyes. A melody being played on a flute rang out into the night, a small figure swaying in the night.

* * *

Ummm...I don't know what to say so thanks for reading and please review! ;)


	25. Back again

The next morning the sun seemed like it didn't want to get out of bed. There was a slight fog covering the forest floor and the trees blocked what little light there was making it seem like dusk. Zelda had risen early, leaving Skull with the group so that she could find some herbs for her throat.

She crouched by a bush, ripping out the necessary plants with her hands and thinking about the night before. How could he have attacked her? Of course it was by a potion but what if he really hated her for leaving him so long? And how stupid was she to believe that they could trust a Gerudo!? Tears threatened her eyes as she crushed the plants in her fists and pushed her knuckles into the ground. A single drop fell to the ground, sinking into the soil. Her tears gave the plants life, they welcomed her tears that would quench their thirst and she let them have it.

Setting the plants on the ground, she found two flat rocks and placed them on her lap. She started to crush the plants between the rock, grinding and beating until it resembled a lumpy green soup splattered over the two rocks. Zelda wiped away at the jelly with her fingers, scraping it on the side of a spare bottle until it was half full. She raised the little glass to her lips and drank the contents, her throat immediately feeling better.

But she didn't want to go back to camp, not until the forest was floor was bright enough to see leaf from rock from a distance. And so she sat. Taking regular sips of the plant juice and listening to the creatures around her. A squirrel sniffed around for nuts in front of her, a bird tweeted to its friend in the nearby bush, a monkey was heard in the distance. As long as she sat still, none of them cared. What would it be like to be a plant? No one would bother you much and there was no such thing as wars. Sighing, she stood up and glanced at the rays of light that forced themselves through the tree branches. She raised a hand up to a ray and smiled as the dust danced around her fingers and the light try and push itself through her hands. So beautiful was the ray that she put her hand down an allowed it to light up the ground as she walked away into the forest and towards a new tune ringing through the air.

* * *

"You're back then." Shad passed Zelda a bowl of soup as she sat down on a log. Telma was stirring a large pot and Ashei was sharing a blanket with Shad with Louise on her lap. Auru was chopping wood and Link was still asleep.

"My throat feels better now, there's some of this left for Ashei's eye." Zelda passed her the bottle with the rest of the plant juice, receiving a thanks.

"Link should be fine now, we can try and see if he's better in about 20 minutes?" Shad explained. Zelda thought for a bit, sipping on her soup.

"OK." she whispered. Shad smiled and nodded and huddled closer to Ashei. They finished their soup and passed the bowls to Telma who made her way to the lake to rinse them out.

"OK, Link will wake up in about 5 minutes. Zelda, I want you to be right in front of him and say his name. He'll be tied up so if he tries to… hurt you then he won't be able to and I'll give him another sleeping potion. But he should be back to normal by now so we'll have the old Link back." Shad explained. Zelda, Ashei and Shad made their way over to Link who was tied to a tree in a sitting position with his head bowed. Ashei had a bulblin club ready just in case and Zelda took her place with Shad staying a little further back with a bottle of potion ready. Zelda watched as link started to to wake up, his muscles trying to stretch and his hands struggle against the rope bindings.

"Link?"

His head snapped up at his name. His eyes were no longer beast-like. They were curious and confused. He seemed to mouth her name, only slightly.

"How do you feel?" her words ringed out. Everyone around them was staring at the events unfold, holding their breaths.

"Safe." Link said that one word. And at that one word, Zelda threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could.

"Argh!" Link called out as her grip became tighter. She immediately sprang back as she recognised it was a scream of pain.

"Scars." he grinned at her, tears coming to both of their eyes. Ashei put down the club an untied Link as everyone relaxed. As soon as he felt his bonds loosen, he hugged Zelda back but very gently to avoid any further pain.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty? I should wash those wounds properly first though..." Zelda started to get up and head for the medical kit but was stopped by Link.

"Some food first I think, I'd like to know what's happened in Hyrule thanks to me." Zelda nodded and served him. Link had three servings, each going down quicker than the last as he asked questions in between sips. Zelda answered them all truthfully, how she started to look for him, how she found Skull, how they got into the castle and almost died and were so close to Link. And Link answered all of her questions, telling her of how he thought she were dead and all about Naboora.

"I don't mean to interrupt you two love-birds but don't you think those wounds need tending to?" Telma said as she gathered Link's bowl. They all stared at his various scratches, some deeper than others, that were scattered around his body.

"Come on, I'll help you clean them at the waterfall round here." Zelda was already up and heading to the lake with the medical bag slung over one shoulder. Link joined her and they swam the short distance round the mini waterfall and onto the bank behind the stone wall that hid them from view. Zelda quickly laid out the supplies, threading a needle just in case.

"Should we start with you chest?" Link nodded and Zelda filled a small bowl with water and soaked a cloth in it, dabbing it onto his chest. There wasn't much blood left since Zelda had cleaned the cuts last but she wanted to make sure they were clean again. His chest didn't take long but she did have to sew a couple stitches on a small gash on his upper arm. She moved down to this calves, quickly cleaning and rubbing in an ointment. Link felt awkward not doing anything and tried to help out a couple of times but he soon got in the way, not being thorough enough with the cleaning.

"Um… Link? Could you tell me where the cuts on your thighs are? I don't want to make you uncomfortable..." Zelda sat back and washed her hands. Link realised what she was trying to avoid and quickly told her. One large cut on his outer right thigh and just a few small scratches on the other. By the time she was done, her cheeks were burning with embarrassment as she packed away the supplies. Link finished rolling down his trousers from where they were bunched up at his thighs and stared at Zelda. She had her back to him and he reached out to tap her shoulder.

"Do you forgive me? For putting Hyrule in danger, for attacking you?"

"Of course I do. It wasn't your fault. And just so you know, I don't mind if you don't forgive me for not finding you sooner. I had the guards search everywhere and-" she didn't finish her sentence as she hung her head in shame.

"I just missed you, so did the kingdom. And those guards are rubbish, even with new training." they spent the next few moments in silence, listening to the rumble of the waterfall.

"I forgive you. There was one thing I didn't tell you though. You know Naboora? I think she betrayed us to try and have a better life. They… abused her after she betrayed King Bulblin and I think she made a promise with them, I'm not sure. But I think she did start to like me, love me even. And like a fool I let her use me like a puppet, she even kissed me. But the whole way through I never had any feelings for her, even when I thought you were dead the only thing that kept me going… was you." he finished in a whisper that was barely audible over the water. He looked up at Zelda and their eyes locked.

Slowly, he leaned in, cupping her cheek in his hand. Their lips met very lightly, eyes closed and hair swaying in the slight breeze. They parted, smiling cheekily at each other as they kissed again. After a couple more kisses, they dived back into the water and under the waterfall. Sitting back down with the group as they settled down for dinner.

* * *

Link is back! I almost didn't write this chapter as I had a bucket load of homework to do but I managed to finish it so here is the chapter! Thanks for reading and please review! ;) :)


	26. A new friend

"So what's our plan of action?" Auru said as Telma sat down with the group, a meeting having been called. It had been three days since Link had gotten back to normal, three blissful, quiet days in the forest. But they had to start thinking about Hyrule. Skull had been warping in and out of various places in Hyrule to bring back news, all bad. The residents of Kakariko had gone into hiding with the Gorons, the Zoras had been halved in numbers and someone from Ordon village had been killed, the rest of the village also going into hiding. The fire crackled in the centre of the group sitting in a circle.

"We can't use that secret entrance to the castle, they would know about that." Zelda quickly said before anyone suggested it.

"Why not gather followers? Spies like Skull and those from the villages can be trained as warriors." Shad asked.

"They would be killed in an instant when against the Gerudo." Ashei replied. Ideas were fired back and forth between the group, all of them being quickly dismissed after a fault was found. Link hadn't said a word yet, tending to stare at the fire or into the woods.

"Hang on, what is the one thing that the castle needs the most? Something the villages from around control? Water. If we manage to get the Zoras to poison the water then we take them out from the inside, if we're lucky we'll even kill King Bulblin." Link finally said. He could see that everyone was turning the idea over in their minds, searching for any flaws or building on the suggestion.

"Skull, warp to Zora's domain. See if you can talk to one of them, if not then just see what their situation is." Zelda instructed Skull who disappeared in an instant.

"OK, brilliant, we're counting on poisoning water to win the war? Surely that tyrant would have servants to test his food? I propose we set out to other villages, see if they'll join us." Ashei explained, at least she was back to her old self.

"I want to go to Ordon, I have to know who was killed." Link stood up and started to pack away his things, tightening the belt on his tunic they had managed to steal from a washing line. Zelda stood up and went over to him, putting a hand around his shoulders.

"If I had been there… maybe they wouldn't have died." a single tear rolled down his cheek. Zelda wiped it away and kissed him on the cheek, helping to put away his things.

"It never was and never will be your fault. Ganondorf started this and we're ending it. Midna would be proud of you." Zelda did up the clasp on his adventure pouch and handed it to him with a smile.

* * *

"So they've been put into slavery..." Zelda whispered as Skull nodded. He had returned quickly, with news that after most of the Zoras had been killed, King Ralis had surrendered which resulted in working for King Bulblin.

"Did you manage to talk to one of them?" Skull shook his head. The sky was completely black by now, not a star in the sky due to the heavy fog around them. Louise was curled up in a ball next to the fire, at just the right distance not to have her fur burnt. Link sat looking at her, remembering when he could talk to her, if only…

"Zelda, come over here a sec." Link got up and made to go behind the waterfall. They had put a wooden plank in place to act as a bridge so that anyone who needed any privacy wouldn't get too wet from the water. Zelda followed him, the water blocking out the group's chatter.

"When I was a wolf, I could talk to animals. I used to talk to Louise, she helped me save Midna actually. If she could understand us now then she could act as a spy. She could even poison the water for us." Zelda could see a ray of hope in his blue eyes as he talked.

"But can she even understand us? Remember I told you about the golden wolf? What if there was a way to turn you back into a wolf, you could go in for us."

"She can understand us but we can't understand her… and I do miss being a wolf." Link stared up into the trees, watching a squirrel as it jumped from branch to branch.

"Then we get Louise to poison their water source, making sure we wouldn't kill anyone on our side. And we find the golden wolf, your ancestor." Link nodded and gave Zelda a quick peck on the cheek before heading back to the group. He crouched down next to Louise and picked her up, gently waking her up. She lifted her head groggily and stared at him, an annoyed look on her face. He bent down to whisper something in her ear and at that she yawned and jumped down, making her way over to Skull with Link behind her.

"Skull, if you can take Louise here to Zora's domain that would be brilliant. Just do me a favour and don't tell anyone I can talk to animals." Skull nodded and bundled Louise into his small arms. They disappeared with a crack and Link turned around to find that everyone was staring at him with curiosity. All except Zelda who was trying to hide a smile on her face. Link just grinned and joined the group again, finishing his forgotten soup and cuddling up next to Zelda. As the night wore on, the fire crackled and reduced in size until it was but a pile of smouldering ash.

* * *

"Master, I am afraid we are unable to find the group that call themselves 'the resistance'." Naboora informed King Bulblin. Surprisingly, he was not munching on his usual snack of fairies and had actually replaced some of his fat with muscle. Instead of slouching, his back was now dead straight as he sat on his throne and he had finally decided to get some new armour instead of that rotting one… but he now bared a striking resemblance to Ganondorf for those who had ever seen him.

"Very well, continue your search but I want the guards doubled and make sure not only my food but the guards' food is always tested. I shall have a special meal ordered to your room for all of your hard work, especially after you almost starved to death." he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

As Naboora closed the door to her room behind her she smelt the familiar scent of roasted ham. She turned to find that a very large chunk of ham and few vegetables had been left on her desk across the room along with a small figure that stood next to it. She walked closer (this took longer considering the size of her room) and upon closer inspection, she saw that it was a child. A child who was almost bone thin and if looks could kill, Naboora would be dead in an instant just so that the girl could have the entire meal to herself.

"I tasted it three days ago, if there was poison I would be dead by now and I have just tasted it now so there is no poison on the food. I have watched it for three days and no one but me has come into contact with it, I warmed it up in case you were wondering." the girl squeaked. She couldn't have been older than nine or ten and had ash brown hair with the biggest green eyes Naboora had ever seen. She sat down without a word, picking up her knife and fork and starting to cut the meat. As she ate, she could feel the girls' hungry eyes staring at her. Finally, she gave in. Throwing down her knife and fork and snapping her head round to face the girl, Naboora pushed the plate towards her.

"Care to join me?" the girls' eyes widened in shock, making them even bigger than usual. She almost seemed as if she was going to except but stepped back at the last moment.

"Why would I eat with the one who was kind enough to destroy my home?" she had her hands on her hips as she spoke in her sarcastic tone, not seeming to realise she was treading on thin ice.

"Because you are almost bone thin, I can't eat all of this so it'll go in the bin anyway and I'll tell you why I did what I did." the girl considered it for a moment and then pulled up a chair and sat down, tearing off a piece of meat with her hands and shoving it in her mouth. Her eyes widened again as she chewed, starting to cram as much food as possible into her mouth.

After a minute or two, she had eaten so quickly that she was finally forced to slow down. Seeing this, Naboora managed to speak to the girl.

"What's your name?"

"Ashira." she answered between bites.

"That suits you, especially since your hair is like that of an ash tree." Ashira merely nodded. She took a gulp of water from the goblet on the table and as she put it down she noticed Naboora.

"Sorry..."  
"What for?"

"I didn't ask permission to drink the water, I ate like an animal and didn't listen to your story." she hung her head in shame and looked towards the door.

"I'll leave now..." she whispered.

"Oh no you won't. You don't have to leave if you don't want to, I need someone to talk to." Ashira nodded and sat back down, looking up at Naboora.

"Why did you hand over the Hero of Twilight?"

" _Straight to the point then."_ Naboora thought. She sighed and looked at the girl again, her large eyes filled with questioning.

"King Bulblin is a very cruel being. He has enslaved and brainwashed my people and he even… hurt me. You are too young to understand the details and I for one do not wish to share them. By handing over the Hero and the Princess then he would free my people and give us dominion over the desert. The day after I told them about the rescue mission and they were supposed to capture the resistance I felt nothing. No triumph, no accomplishment. Just regret and worry. Because I realised that I had cost the lives of thousands and all for nothing, King Bulblin would never free my people."

Ashira just looked at Naboora after her explanation. She didn't seem to be thinking about it, nor thinking about anything else.

"When the monsters came to kill my mother they beat her with their clubs. Only when I told them I would become a servant did they leave her alone… do you mean hurt like that?" Naboora just smiled sadly at the girl and nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"When I first saw you I was afraid just because of you being a Gerudo. But now I see that you are a very sad and troubled person indeed. And I think I would have done the same if I was in your position." Ashira started to pile the goblet and cutlery onto the plate as she finished talking.

"How old are you?"

"10."

"You are very wise for your age."

"Most people say that but thank you."

"Can you come back tomorrow? We can talk some more and I promise there will be food." Ashira smiled as wide as her mouth would allow her, nodding her head so violently Naboora was sure that if she didn't stop, it would drop off. Taking the plate with her, Ashira took walked towards the door and opened it with her foot, waving goodbye with the hand she managed to free from under the plate. Her ashen hair whipped round and just made it out of the doorway as it closed shut with a small thud.

* * *

Naboora has a friend! I thought we should get back to her so here you go. Thanks for reading and please review! ;)

P.S: Longest chapter so far!


	27. More Preparations

Naboora waited with baited breathe for the little girl with ash coloured hair to walk through the door. It had been 5 months since the child had been visiting her. In that time, Ashira had turned 11 and all had been quiet in the kingdom… besides King Bulblins reign of terror obviously.

The oak door opened and Ashira stepped in, closing the door and quickly bolting across the room and launching herself into Naboora's arms. She was shocked. Ashira had never hugged her before but now Naboora thought about it, no child had ever hugged her. They embraced each other completely silent for a minute until Naboora gently lifted Ashira away and saw the silver tears filling those brilliant green eyes.

"What is wrong child?" Naboora lifted her head up and knew at once what had happened.

"M..m..mother..." was all Ashira could manage until she burst into tears again. Her mother had died. She had fallen ill and although Naboora supplied medicine and Ashira nursed her mother as best she could, it was not to be.

"Ashira, eat something and calm yourself. Your mother is now in a better place and is watching down on you now. And although I never met her, I know with all my heart that she is so proud of you."

"I don't want to eat anything! I'll starve myself! I just want to be with her again..." Ashira shouted. They hugged again. Of course it was just the shock, Naboora thought. But what if Ashira did do that?

"I'm sorry Naboora. I miss her, she was all I had. Now...what do I do? If it wasn't for that usurper king...if it wasn't for him she would have gotten proper care. I HATE HIM!" she bellowed.

"Quiet! If someone heard you-"

"Let them! He is not the rightful ruler! I wish he was dead!"

"For Hylia's sake, stop shouting! If you listen then I can help!" immediately Ashira was still. The green eyes trying hard to hold back more tears.

"I haven't been entirely truthful to you. Sit down and I'll explain." the pair sat down at Naboora's desk.

"When you met me you asked why I handed over the Hero of Twilight. I replied truthfully but now my answer has changed. Now I feel so much regret and pain over what I have done. During the rescue, I gave the Hero a potion that would make him hate the Princess Zelda so much he would try to kill her and I did it because I was jealous. Jealous of Zelda's fortune and wisdom and jealous that she had already stolen Link's heart long before he met me. Now I don't know what's happened to the people who took me in and cared for me, they could be dead. But I no longer want to be a servant, a spy… a murderer. I don't want the kingdom to suffer which is why I want to be rid of King Bulblin. I need help to do that though and you're the only one who shares my wish in this castle that I know of. So, will you help me?" Naboora finished. She felt like that had summed up the situation nicely and was honest with every word.

"Of course I will! Anything to be rid of him."

* * *

Zelda looked around at her subjects. Their group had grown, now consisting of mostly Zoras since Skull and Louise took a visit there. They had been unsuccessful in poisoning the water system but had managed to smuggle every last Zora to the Lost woods. Ordon village had also joined them and about 10 Gorons who had found them one day whilst on the run. They had enough armour and weapons to attack the castle now but not enough people.

"Resistance! Your attention please! We have endured King Bulblin's reign of terror for too long! We must take back control but we need a plan of action! Myself and Link have come up with something but we need all of your help. So, will you help us?" the entire crowd cheered, raising their fists and weapons in high spirits.

"Good! Now, where's Barnes?"

"Here!" Barnes the bomb maker raised his hand and stepped forward.

"We need bombs, lots of them. How many could you make in one day?"

"I'd say about 10, maybe 15 with some help."

"What if you trained the kids to make them? They're bored and I know they want to do something."

"Uhh, well. I suppose but only if they're 10 or above! I don't fancy being blown up right now." he chuckled with a hand behind his head.

"Listen up! All children over the age of 10 are to be taught how to make bombs with Barnes here. All those below are to gather wood for fires and forage for berries which will be supervised by Shad. Adults, if you can fight are to train with Shad, Ashei and Link. The other adults are to either train with me to learn how to be more stealthy, so as to sneak up on enemies or to make weapons, armour, potions and food. As soon as we're ready we will storm the castle!"

The crows cheered once again and spilt into their group. The kids were already buzzing with excitement at being so important and Zelda beamed when she saw that Link looked more alive than ever. He was back to full health and itching for a fight.

"Link! A moment please." Zelda called to him. He let Ashei and Shad take over and approached Zelda.  
"Anything wrong beautiful?" he teased. Their relationship had been tricky, Zelda insisting to keep it secret so as not to distract the others.

"Just wanted to say that you are looking fit as a fiddle today. And to report how they get on with training."

"Well, thank you princess. And they look like a fit bunch. They should do OK for now but we'll see how it goes." he looked around to make sure everyone was busy and quickly pecked Zelda on the cheek, taking her by surprise. She blushed bright pink as Link hurried away, unsheathing his sword and preparing his class. Zelda knew that they would take back the kingdom...or die trying.

* * *

Hello again! I am extremely sorry I haven't written in absolutely ages but I have been busy! (Also I didn't quite know where this was going but now I do!). I would love to hear any tips you guys might have so please comment! Thanks for reading!


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